ShowMeDo is a website where users can upload screencasts of themselves demonstrating how to do various tasks in Linux and with open-source software. Screencasts range from very low quality (someone recording their desktop computer while talking you through commands and configuration files) to more polished presentations. Content creation is community driven, based around the idea that if you learn something, you can show other people how to do it.
The entire atmosphere of the website and the content of it are very DIY, homemade. Remember old YouTube? It’s older and nerdier. Linux users and programmers record their desktops, narrate on screen the command line operations they perform to achieve some task (most of them being related to configuration or software installation), or walk users through operating system or software features. The quality of the videos ranges from high to dire (yeah, sometimes the narrator sounds like he’s whispering into a mic covered in toilet paper) and it’s exactly because of the nature of the site like that. ShowMeDo’s appeal, it’s that “we’re all here to help each other”, “how to” compiled by the enthusiasts for the enthusiasts.
Topics are quite varied. You can find screencasts on how to program in Python, install Ubuntu, learn vim, shell scripting, Django, etc. Anything anyone feels like sitting down and recording. Quality of the videos is all over the place, some are super crisp, some sound like they were recorded with a mic in the bathroom (though usually the audio quality issue is due to someone using a potatohead microphone). Inconsistency is part of the charm of the site I think? It's real, not sanitized.
Site allows you to search and filter by topic and experience level, and you can browse by programming language, by distribution, by specific tools, etc. They also have playlists where someone has manually compiled related tutorials - like "Beginner Python" or "Setting up a web server from scratch". Useful to try to have some learning path instead of just randomly clicking around (though tbh I've spent many an hour just... clicking around randomly and finding all sorts of random useful tips I didn't know I needed to know).
The lack of subscription and hidden “premium” content make ShowMeDo a godsend over flashy paid alternatives. Everything is free, there are no walls hiding paid content behind monthly subscription. Everything is available immediately. You don’t even need an account, unless you want to upload a tutorial or comment. You just have to show up, and the tutorials will be there for you to search and view. The downsides are: there are no curated learning paths, like you can buy on paid services, no learning certificates or interactive lesson plans and no official hand-holding. You are entirely on your own, to find a video that works and is up to date, and then piece together a usable learning experience from what someone, a year ago or ten years ago, decided to upload and document.
Site layout/UI is outdated. I mean really outdated - think mid-2000s web design that no one bothered to update past XP-era Windows. Navigation is fine, not terrible but nothing amazing. Video player is basic, there is a comments section, but it's not exactly active. It's a content site, you don't go there for the UX, really. Screencasts are from various eras, so some of them are very dated (Ubuntu 8.04 era videos still on there, so you want to make sure you check upload dates and are not following instructions for legacy software or outdated methods). Also it's a content dump so older posts are all mixed in with new ones.
Community participation is, or at least used to be, a big part of ShowMeDo’s charm. There were comments and forums on the site, a small but dedicated userbase. But these days? Forum threads are almost ghost towns. Comments don’t get replies. While the internet has progressed, a lot of users probably migrated to other platforms, or other forums, Reddit, Discord, Quora. There are a number of Stack Overflow sites, or subreddits dedicated to any Linux-specific or programming-specific subject, and the crowds have moved with them. Which is a pity, but means that in case you have a question, you will have to leave ShowMeDo and find the help for the tutorial you’ve been struggling with elsewhere. Niche resources are, these days, probably more so than ever before, niche.
Linux and OSS tool learning is a niche use case that it still serves well, especially if you are fine with content that's a bit older and browsing an experience that doesn't feel modern. Screencasts are more often than not utilitarian, to the point, and made by people that actually use these tools day to day. So you're not getting high level theoretical explanations, you're seeing someone DO the thing. Make mistakes, fix them in real time. That's useful, in a way official docs aren't - because it's... human.
Definitely worth checking out if you're getting into Linux or Python or web dev with OSS stacks and you want that DIY kind of vibe to your learning resources. It's not slick or high quality production, and it's definitely not kept up to date so you have to wade through older material. Think of it more like a community library where a bunch of volunteers deposited their knowledge 10 years ago and you've just now happened to show up to borrow it.
LocalFlirt is solid if you're hunting for actual dates and not just endless texting that leads nowhere. The whole setup is super transparent—no shady subscription traps or fake profiles flooding your inbox, which honestly is rare these days (most apps are a total mess with bots). People actually reply here, like real humans who showed up to meet someone, and the vibe skews more genuine than those swipe-obsessed platforms where everyone ghosts after two messages. Communication tools are straightforward—messaging works, video chat if you want to vet someone before committing to coffee, profile browsing that doesn't feel like scrolling through a catalog of mannequins. LocalFlirt has this reputation for being low-key reliable among folks who tried the big names and got burned... users stick around because matches convert into real hangouts instead of disappearing into the void.
