< What is this thing? >

tuXfiles is a source of serious and not-so-serious Linux resources for new Linux users and user-wannabes. The main part of this site consists of tuXfiles, a collection of Linux tutorials and tips designed especially for people who have just installed Linux for the first time and are feeling a little lost with their new operating system.

The purpose of tuXfiles is to help Linux newbies learn the essential basics of Linux, but my purpose is not only to provide howto's or tutorials about how to do certain things. tuXfiles are also meant to provide understanding of how Linux works. There are many small, unique things about Linux that make it a great operating system, and I want people to know about those useful little features as early as possible.

tuXfiles is also featuring the obligatory web link collection. The link collection is by no means the biggest one there is, and it's horribly biased, because it contains only the links I personally have found useful. I call the link collection a "link directory" because "link collection" sounds like something people slap on their personal home pages, whereas "directory" sounds like something big and important. Anyway, it's still just a collection of links...

And don't forget to take a look at my Linux ANTI help section. It's basically a small collection of Linux rants and bad humor that shouldn't be taken too seriously.

< What is this thing not? >

tuXfiles isn't a news site. I know that many Linux sites display news on the front page, but don't expect that from tuXfiles. It's just not what I'm going to make out of this site. If you can't live without news, check out the news sites that I have in my link collection, and shut up.

tuXfiles isn't a big, professional project, either. This site is maintained by only one person as a hobby and as a way to contribute to the Linux community. That's why tuXfiles is updated rather sporadically, and that's why some of the help files may not be entirely politically correct. You've been warned! Read the very, uhm, official and, eh, serious DISCLAIMER for more info.

< How did this thing get started? >

This website is here because I enjoy learning new things.

Somewhere around the end of last millennium, I started learning some basic HTML, and as soon as I managed to put together a page that was rendered almost correctly in my browser, I got the irresistible urge to upload my crappy creation to the web.

I had at least a little bit sense in my head, though. I knew no one would be interested in reading about me, yet another angsty teenage girl, albeit a little weird one. I didn't have the slightest desire of reading about Joe Schmoe's hobbies, pets, and favorite food, so I figured no one would be interested in reading about mine, either. So, I needed a topic that might actually interest the visitors of my crappy little home page.

Coming up with a suitable topic wasn't that hard. I had been fiddling with Linux for a year or two, had an awful lot of fun learning how Linux was working, and was loathing Microsoft with all my angsty teenage wrath. I've always enjoyed teaching people how stuff works, and back then, Linux was so much harder to install and configure than these days, and way too big a portion of the Linux help on the net was too technical for newbies, so Linux newbie help was a natural topic for my new crappy HTML creation. I added a little bit of X-files fandom and love for puns in the mix, and thus, tuXfiles was born.

While my tuXfiles have been helping new Linux users learn something new about their operating systems, I've been learning quite a bit myself, too. While making this site, I've been learning new things about my Linux system, I've been learning new things about my second language, English, and I've been learning quite a bit about HTML, XHTML, CSS, PHP, Google's search algorithm, web standards, and web design in general.

These days, tuXfiles is quite different than back then, but I still run the site for the same reason - my love for learning, both learning myself and helping others learn.