We tell people we use Linux because it's secure. Or because it's free, because it's customizable, because it's free (the other meaning), because it has excellent community support...

But all of that is just marketing bullshit. We tell that to non-Linuxers because they wouldn't understand the real reason. And when we say those false reasons enough, we might even start to believe them ourselves.

But deep underneath, the real reason remains.

We use Linux because it's fun!

It's fun to tinker with your system. It's fun to change all the settings, break the system, then have to go to recovery mode to repair it. It's fun to have over a hundred distros to choose from. It's fun to use the command line.

Let me say that again. It's fun to use the command line.

No wonder non-Linuxers wouldn't understand.

The point with us Linux fans is - we use Linux for its own sake. Sure, we like to get work done. Sure, we like to be secure from viruses. Sure, we like to save money. But those are only the side-effects. What we really like is playing with the system, poking around, and discovering completely pointless yet fascinating facts about the OS.

There are three main reasons Linux is so much fun:

1. Linux gives you complete control

Ever tried stopping a process in Windows and the OS wouldn't let you? Ever tried deleting a file - and you couldn't? Even though you had admin rights?

Linux lets you do anything. That's the great benefit of usually logging in as user. If you login as the root, the OS assumes you know what you're doing. Once you become root, everything is allowed.

2. Linux isn't widely used

This is a paradox. We often complain Linux isn't more widely used. But that's one of the reasons we use it. It gives us a feeling of being a special clique. Like we're better than "those ignorant masses".

If Linux becomes widely used, we'll probably switch to something else. Or at least develop an obscure distro that only we will use. Because, let's face it, we want to feel special.

3. Linux is free (as-in-speech)

We can get the source code for all our applications. If we want to know how a certain part of the OS works, we can. This lets us tweak and play with our systems. And we absolutely loo-o-o-ve tweaking our system.

Of course we can't tell non-Linuxers we use Linux because it's fun - they'd stick us into a mental asylum quicker than you can say "antidisestablishmentarianism". So we'll keep telling them the false yet plausible reasons for using Linux. But deep inside, we'll know the real reason we use Linux.

And maybe, just maybe, next time someone asks me why I use Linux, I'll flash a huge smile and answer: "Because using Linux is FUN!"

我们告诉人们我们使用Linux是因为它是安全的，或者因为它是免费的，又或者因为它是可定制的，再或者因为它的自由（free的另一个意思），又再或者因为它具有良好的社区支持...

但所有这些都只是营销的屁话。我们之所以这样告诉那些非Linuxer们，是因为他们是不会明白其真正的原因。而当我们说惯了那些虚假的理由的时候，我们可能也会开始相信这些谎言。

但深入的追问一下，真正的原因仍然存在。

我们使用Linux ，是因为它好玩 ！

能随时修改你的系统是很好玩的。它的乐趣在于改变所有的设置，破坏系统，然后必须到恢复模式修复它；它的乐趣在于有超过一百个发行版供人选择；它的乐趣在于使用命令行。

让我再说一遍，它的乐趣在于使用命令行。

无怪乎非Linuxer们不明白。

对我们这群Linux粉丝而言，我们是为了使用Linux而使用Linux。当然，我们首先要在操作系统上完成自己的工作，并希望得到安全免受病毒侵袭，我们也想省点钱。但这些只是使用Linux的副作用。我们真正喜欢的是玩系统，到处乱改，然后发掘完全没有意义但是非常有趣的关于操作系统的事实。

Linux充满乐趣有3个主要原因：

1. Linux给予你完全的控制权

你是否曾经尝试过在Windows系统里结束一个进程，而操作系统不允许你这样做？你是否尝试过想删除一个文件而又删不掉？即便你已经拥有了管理员权限。

而Linux可以让你做任何事。这也是为什么一般情况下要以普通用户登陆，因为如果你以root账号登录，操作系统会假设你知道你究竟要做什么——一旦你成为root，所有的一切操作都是允许的。

2. Linux没有被广泛的使用

这是一个悖论。我们经常抱怨Linux没有更广泛的应用，但同时这也是我们使用它的一个原因：它会让我们感觉属于一个特殊群体，好像我们优于其他“那些无知的群众”。

如果Linux被广泛采用的话，我们将可能会改用另一种系统，或者至少开发一个晦涩的发行版只供我们自己使用。那是因为，让我们面对我们真实的想法吧，我们需要感觉到与众不同。

3. Linux是自由的（就像一般演讲中提到的）

我们可以得到所有应用程序的源代码。如果我们想知道操作系统的某个部分是怎样运作的，我们也可以做得到。这使我们能够调整并“玩”我们的系统，而且我们绝对痴迷于调整系统。

当然，我们不能告诉那些非Linuxer们说我们使用Linux是因为它好玩——因为如果那样的话，他们将会在一炷香的时间内把我们送进精神病院。所以，我们将继续告诉他们错误的但似是而非的使用Linux的理由。但在我们的内心深处，我们都知道使用Linux的真正原因。

如果，只是如果，下一次有人问我为什么使用Linux的时候，我会闪现一个巨大的微笑，并回答说：“我使用Linux是因为它好玩！”