FreeBSD, I think. Otherwise good rant.
But as the person who started this thread, I want to say, the point was not to sound techy, or encourage others to sound techy, but to find partners to play with some of these new ideas and evaluate their worth for us.
All through the late 90s and into the 2000s, I ranted at the new- fangled stuff coming up, how silly it was, the regression implicit in the use of forums, webmail, etc, etc. Somewhere along the line, I had flipped to the other end... it was around the time I realised I was getting ready to murder people who top-post, I think.
I was lucky enough to find Unix in the 80s before Windows washed over everything and made "users" out of everyone. Unix let me explore the technology, get into the details, hack my own changes into the system... stuff that Doug, if I understand him right, thinks we should leave behind (so that we can use a computer as a device, akin to a phone or a microwave), but I always felt differently (it takes all types to form a community or effect change). Then AOL, etc came on, and the user's (without the quotes) activities were reduced to trivialities and the sort of gimmick-craze you describe took hold.
Nonetheless, there are two points I would offer in favour of a more forgiving approach (than mine, circa 2000): perception creates reality, and we (assuming there is a "we") lose ground in the public sphere/consciousness/what-have-you by rejecting this stuff for technical, aesthetic or other reasons. Second, these things are often a mixed bag. Doug used to [sort of] ridicule blogging etc, but has finally created a blog now -- which I think is a great thing. Jut because most blogs are ridiculous or worthless, and the hype surrounding all this stuff is nauseating, doesn't mean (it seems to me) that we (a small subset perhaps) shouldn't take a look into it.
Speaking generally:
Carrol keeps mentioning that usually movements (he would probably use a different word) need followers, but at this moment what is lacking are leaders. There may be an opportunity for the "far left" to gain some public attention and following especially in these times. Clever manipulation of technology and fads, to that end, should be part of "our" arsenal.
E.Politicus and Alan: I want to respond to your thoughts, but will do so separately.
--ravi