what is linux

you know, i thought i knew what linux was, i use windows, what is linux, how is it different? why do programmers tend to preffer linux if they do? is it stablity or what?

If you go OH SHIT TEXT WTF DO I DO when you see a terminal, you're not going to be able to keep your computer healthy and running.

Isn't that a sign that something is fundamentally wrong with the software? Why should it take effort to maintain a machine?

It's not just *nix. Almost everyone is to blame here.