“User Friendly” and “GPF” creators on comics and operating systems

Web comics are the next incarnation of traditional cartoons. And while the medium in which they are published has changed, the idea of comics making commentary still stays the same. Today, some Web comic creators use their comic to promote Linux advocacy.

Two of the better known Web comics, User Friendly and General Protection Fault, have used Linux and open source as inspiration for many of their story lines. User Friendly is a daily strip about the staff at a small Internet service provider. It’s an ensemble strip, with a group of about half a dozen core characters and the same number of supporting characters. General Protection Fault is most easily described as a geek soap opera. It follows the misadventures of the employees of a small software company and the sentient slime molds who love them.

We sat down with J.D. “Illiad” Frazier (User Friendly) and Jeffrey Darlington (General Protection Fault) to discuss Web comics and their roles in Linux advocacy.

NewsForge: What inspires your work?

J.D. “Illiad” Frazier: Real life. No one can come up with one-tenth of the funny, weird, incredible events that life provides on a daily basis. I guess I’m also inspired by irritation. Large, Powerful Organizations irk me, and cartooning allows me to take liberties with their bought dignity.

Jeff Darlington: For me, it’s mostly the humorous interactions of the many geeks I’ve come to know over the years. GPF is largely character-based humor; it’s not necessarily tech humor per se (although there’s plenty of that), but it’s more about geeks themselves and the unusual relationships they tend to form. This is why I think so many non-computer-geek geeks tend to also enjoy the strip.

NF: What are your thoughts on the various operating systems platforms?

Illiad: As someone once said, they all suck, some just suck less. I’m not a computer guru, but I’m a competent power user. I use Windows XP and Linux, the former for production work and games and the latter for everything else. I’d love to have Linux on the desktop 24/7, but that isn’t going to happen anytime real soon. I’m a production slave so I’m chained to applications. When the GIMP catches up to Photoshop’s prepress abilities (last time I checked it hadn’t) I’ll have one less reason to have a Windows box. Windows has improved, but one step up from the bottom rung isn’t anything to write home about. I really like Mac OS X, but can’t afford the hardware Apple sells. I think I’ll always have a Windows box, however. I don’t play many games but the ones I do play almost never have a Linux port, alas.

JD: I tend to use Microsoft Windows more than anything else, but I believe that’s largely because of its dominance of the market and the fact that most of the software I need to use is only available for Windows. However, I tend to share much of the animosity toward Microsoft that prevails on the ‘Net. After all, Microsoft doesn’t exactly have the greatest track record when it comes to decency and fair play (or platform stability, for that matter).

If I would pick an OS that I would like to like and use most, it would probably be Linux. I’ve always been impressed with my experiences with Linux in specific and with open source software in general. I would certainly pick Linux for server tasks over Windows. I have a Fedora Linux box that acts as a file and Web server. (I use Fedora largely because most of my Linux experience has been with Red Hat, and I jumped to Fedora after Red Hat changed their licensing structure.) I chose Linux largely for my own curiosity and to broaden my experiences, but I continue using it for its reliability.

NF: What are your thoughts on Linux and open source?

Illiad: I’m a Linux and open source supporter for a reason other than the quality of Linux and the open source philosophy: I’m really an advocate of choice. The more choices we as consumers have, the better it is for us. I love the idea of Microsoft being furious over this shiny little upstart operating system that has threatened their less-than-ethical business practices by simply being. And I’m sure it drives them beyond calculable rage that they can’t just BUY Linux or open source!! They have to resort to propaganda campaigns and labels like “communist” and “cancer” in an effort to stem the tide.

JD: I am a strong supporter of open source and many of its ideals. Linux is an excellent poster child for the movement, but is not and should not be its only rising star. I think the commercial software industry has a lot to learn from open source, especially from the collaborative development process.

At the same time, there are some portions of the open source movement that border on zealotry, and perhaps dangerously so. While it’s always good to have ardent supporters for such a movement, some of these zealots may do more harm than good. In 2001 I co-wrote an interesting crossover story about that very topic called “Intervention.”

NF: Do you believe yourself to be an open source advocate?

Illiad: I am, coupled with the fact that I’m also an advocate of choice as detailed above. I’m also an advocate of usability — if a hacker provides me with the coolest, spiffiest, and shiniest app in the world, it won’t mean squat to me or a legion of other production slaves if we can’t use it in our work. Yes, the coolness of it still remains, but if you want me to invest time and/or money in it, make it usable and useful to a meaningful consumer base.

JD: I would not consider myself an advocate, but definitely a supporter. I often recommend open source alternatives that I’ve found useful, as well as the occasional mention within the strip. But I feel there are others who are much more vocal about open source and do a much better job as advocates than I would do, and I feel my talents would be better suited to supporting their efforts than formulating my own.

NF: What trends do you see in the next few years?

Illiad: The same ones that have been established already. It’s kind of like a mud trail with ruts; unless something else big happens — and over the next three years I can’t imagine what that would be — things will continue as they are. Microsoft will own the desktop space, Apple will earn a few more points of market share, and Linux will keep giving Microsoft’s IIS a good thumping.

JD: I usually find I’m not very good at predicting trends. But I would say that as long as Linux survives the SCO lawsuit (which, after all, has already proven to be ridiculous at best), we should see plenty of growth in open source development. I doubt it will completely eliminate commercial software, but it will certainly offer greater diversity and alternatives in the software arena.

NF: Do you think you use your comics to make social commentary? To comment on today’s events?

Illiad: Much of the time, yes to both. I think comics are one of the best vehicles for social commentary as their humorous nature disarms the reader at the get-go. When the punch line is delivered, it’s that much more poignant because the reader is entertained at the same time. This is the engine of all satire.

I think I do it out of irritation with the world around me. I may not be able to hold certain CEOs’ and executives’ feet to the fire as a major shareholder of their firms, but I can certainly poke fun at them.

My ultimate goal, I think, is to help raise awareness of the corruption, hypocrisy, and power-mongering going on in the Big Powerful Entities.

JD: As a general rule, no. I consider myself more of a story teller than anything else. But I have on occasion thrown in a joke or reference to current events. However, considering that I maintain a buffer of up to eight weeks of comics in advance of the current strip, commenting on current events is often difficult.

When it comes to social commentary, I usually try to maintain a neutral stance or explore issues from multiple angles. Hearing just one side of a debate hardly gives you the entire picture, so often different characters will express opposing viewpoints, and I try to give both sides equal time. Sometimes the readers pick up on only one side and run with it, but usually when that happens they seem to miss the more subtle tones I may put on the other point of view. Of course, a good story and living vibrant characters are what I focus on most, so if there’s any social commentary to be made, it’s more a secondary or minor part of the larger equation.

Usually, if I make social commentary at all, it’s to raise awareness of an issue and spark interest in debate. This is also why I think it’s important that each side should receive some sort of voice. A debate isn’t a debate if it’s entirely one-sided, and very rarely does only one side have all the right answers.

NF: Why did you create comics on technical issues and the technical community?

Illiad: It’s what I know best. I grew up a geek, and although by the mid-’90s I didn’t choose the path of the super-tech, I still had close ties to the industry. I may not be a technologist, but I understand technologists well.

JD: Same here — largely because of my familiarity with the topic. With a degree in computer science and years of experience in the IT industry, it just seemed to come naturally.

At the time I created GPF, I wasn’t aware of any other comics that even touched on technology, except perhaps Scott Adams’ “Dilbert” (which has since become almost strictly more generalized office humor). I felt there was a niche there that wasn’t being filled, and I felt GPF would be a good fit. I only discovered other tech-themed comics online after GPF had been running for some time.

NF: Does audience feedback affect your storylines?

Illiad: Feedback from the audience is worth its bandwidth in platinum. Ivory towers are for people who like drinking their own bathwater. Yuck.

I get quite a few germs of ideas from audience feedback, and on several occasions received complete ideas from my readers. Again, it’s a case of real life providing stories that even the most imaginative writer can’t come up with.

JD: I value reader feedback immensely, but it usually doesn’t directly affect the story lines already planned. Sometimes a reader (or 20, as is usually the case) might catch a detail I’ve missed, which causes me to take note to mention that point when I revisit that story arc later. But I never build entire stories around reader suggestions and very rarely change something based on a complaint. GPF is very tightly scripted, and I don’t like to change things unless the feedback points out a glaring inaccuracy that absolutely must be addressed.

I also like to leave some things open to interpretation. Nothing’s more fun that to watch the forums light up with pages and pages of speculation based on a character’s expression.

NF: Any final thoughts?

Illiad: I need SCO to die soon so that I can write a nasty little cartoon obituary for the company.