Isn’t just awkward that you use a different app? How do you explain?
Do NOT tell anybody in the office that you use Libre Office.
If you do, you will be blamed for every problem anyone encounters.Font size looks incorrect - Carl’s fault for using libre office to edit the file (even though you never worked on that project at all).
Paper jamb in the printer - Carl’s fault for printing a document from that weird libre office program.
I got fired for saying something racist on twitter - Carl’s fault for using that weirdo libre shit.
Second this. People who don’t understand tech blame anything that’s different for their problems even if unrelated.
This isn’t isolated to tech and is how bigotry persists
Can second this. After becoming the tech person of my household most issues are now “my fault” I dont really mind in my situation but if it was the entire workplace, not good.
I got fired for saying something racist on twitter - Carl’s fault for using that weirdo libre shit.
What
Non-sequitor because people will blame the dumbest stuff on stuff they think is “wierd”
Does this actually cause compatibility issues? If not, no need to explain
I don’t owe my co-workers any explanation.
“Hey, I never liked Office 365, Microsoft as a company and all the Cloud shenanigans… And have you noticed how their products all become shittier and more invasive by the day? All while they increase subscription price each year now to finance all the AI stuff I rarely use? I’m a long-term fan of this other product, called XYZ which is just better in every aspect. No offense. If you want me to send you a link…”
(Edit: It’ll become easier after a while. At some point they all know you’re a Linux nerd and disassembled your wifi router at home, dishwasher… To get rid of proprietary spy components. And people will deliberately decide to listen to your opinion and lengthy rant, or make an effort to not bring up the topic 😆 At that point, you’re relatively free to speak your mind… Just read the room a bit. The goal isn’t to annoy people.)
I think that will really help if you really need to explain lol. Yeah, tell them you’re a nerd, that’s why!
Hehe. It depends a bit on the social group. But most people will be aware of it before I even open my mouth… Dunno, maybe it’s the long hair, or Debian t-shirt or something like that. But I rarely have to (verbally) disclose the fact I’m a nerd 😉 There’s some danger of confusion with the metalheads, but you know, people can fulfill several stereotypes simultaneously, so… confusion avoided…
For work, I have a work computer with a build on it provided by work.
If your work is letting/having you use something different, then explanations shouldn’t be needed. If youre doing this on your own, that may be a problem.
this was my thought.
I was asked by a friend of the family why I had to “mod” everything, “You make it all so it doesn’t work right!”
…because “working right” in this day and age is a privacy nightmare, a security disaster, and relinquishing your rights, duh! Then I asked her how much the lawyer cost to understand what she’s agreeing to in all the EULAs of services she’s signed up for just to make things “work right”.
“I use LibreOffice Writer and other Linux apps”. There, simple as that.
If they ask why and show a more actual concerned interest, I usually mention Microslop history of privacy invasions and history of deliberate incompatibilities in Office, and recommend a few links documenting that stuff as well as some legal hot waters Microslop has gotten into.
Literally no one will care. Just make sure that your documents works well for them.
I didn’t use Linux in college, but I did use many FOSS tools. LibreOffice is easily my favorite office suite and there’s no contest. So long as you export your documents as .PDF or submit them as .DOCX, nobody is likely to know or even care what you used to type them.
This is likely to be similar for other types of software- as long as your finished product is compatible and looks good on the proprietary software, you shouldn’t run into any issues.
BTW, the university had student access for Microsoft Office. I could have chosen to use their tools at any time and I simply chose not to.
I use Libre Office. It runs faster than word.
Linux apps run faster than Windows bloatware I think lol
It also has the bonus that is one file has an issue, it doesn’t lock up and crash every single other open document in different instances across excel, word, powerpoint, everything lol
I often work in several excels at once, I almost cry every time I have to undo something in a worksheet I haven’t made changes to in a while
Thanks to the behaviour of the American Government the past year, it has become really easy. Everybody suddenly understand and respect the argument of boycotting american products and software.
If the colleague is provoking you, a dismissal answer could be a good call, like (hypothetical case) “you use iPhone and I use Android and I don’t make a fuss about it”.
But if the awkwardness question is something your colleagues asked, and/or they’re genuine curious why you do, a more objective answer could be “I compared the two and for the reasons x / y / z, I decided to use LibreOffice / Linux stuff instead”.
Why would it be awkward? Most non-technical people are so thrown by my white-text-on-black desktop theme that they can’t even tell what software I’m using, and the few technical people around know that I have Opinions about software and aren’t interested in talking about it. Keeping everything adequately compatible with the company-issued software is my problem.
“Ewww, Windowsssss!”
Pinch my nose, spray my fingers with hand sanitizer, then walk away from their desk.
Hit them with a final “Yuck” as you walk away.
My usual experience with non-computer people is that they really couldn’t care less and glaze over at any discussion of software choices what so ever. I’ve given up even trying to tell them for the most part. If you’re not required to use specific software by your employer (thankfully I’m not), then just use what you want and nobody will care, at least in my experience.
