Okay. So. I guarantee you that most Windows users—especially ones on Fedi—know how fucked up Windows has become. Bombarding them with "Install #Linux, we have cookies!" propaganda isn't going to send them rushing to download an image and flash it to a usb drive to install.

They know Windows is a nightmare, they want the nightmare to stop. But there are a lot of reasons stopping them from installing Linux.

One of the biggest ones is that even as Linux has gotten easier and easier to install, it's still a really big step for a lot of people. Maybe they only have one computer, and can't risk slagging it if they mess up. Maybe they don't even know where to start backing up their data. Google and the other search engines are returning AI slop, so they can't trust those to give them accurate and useful answers.

So instead of trying to convince them they want to switch, we need to help them find the resources necessary to do so
if they decide they're ready. We need to be the opposite of all those fucking RTFM bros that made it hard when we first switched. We need to make sure they can find a helpful community to give them the support to feel safe in switching.

Because yeah, Windows fucking sucks. They know that, we know that. But breaking their computer so it works even less is fucking terrifying, and Linux has a fucking PR problem because the RTFM bros are the loudest members of our community.

Edit: this really resonated while I was asleep, and I'm glad to know I'm not the only one frustrated here. A few people have replied asking for help, and I'll try to boost them later when I get back to the computer, but if you can, please help them out. Not everyone is gonna switch, but let's make it better for those who are ready and willing to make the jump.

@deathkitten Yes. Let's not forget we run linux (kind of by definition) on specific configs well suited for it.

People's Windows machine configs can be random, if the wifi driver does not load it's (usually) game over.

@CartyBoston For sure. Which is why the live usb drives that also install are so wonderful. They let you test the distro before you install to ensure you'll have the most important things: whatever networking/internet you need, video drivers, and keyboard/touchpad (critical if you're using a laptop). In theory, you can recover from most everything else, but I also understand why new users might still get discouraged if there's a bunch of other things to fix.
@deathkitten that's a great point, I may be still reacting to bad experiences I had some time ago.