We all know about the many choices there are for linux distributions. I basically stick to 10 distro’s and sometimes take a look at some distro’s that just do a really good job. If someone comes up to me like a family member or a friend and tells me they’re interested (Okay yes, I’m lying. That never happens) I’m able to make the choice for them based on their needs. But for people who don’t have someone close to them who they can ask it can be pretty overwhelming. But now comes my idea. I was wondering whether it would be possible for DLN to create a website that people can visit where they can see the best current 5 distro’s for certain levels of proficiency (Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced). I guess you could make some sort of board with people from DLN and some other respected members of the community that take part in BDL for example to create this list. You could evaluate it when needed if for example a distro dies or something better comes up. And this would only include desktop distro’s ofc. Not something like Tails, Kali or Raspbian. But you could also make a list for that if you wanted xD. At first I wanted to create this myself but my lists would be too subjective. And a list by more people would not. And my interests change too much so after a month I would probably ditch it already.
What do other people think of this? There’s not something like this at the moment and it would make it so much more structured because at the moment it’s kind of all over the place. Making a video about the top 5/10/15/20/25 distro’s can be useful but a website that can be updated when needed and people can look at all the time would be so valuable. And this is just my idea. At first I thought just one list with the top 5 overall and 20 extra that come close or just a list with 10 or 25 distro’s would be good but maybe with the levels of proficiency it’s better. But whatever, it basically comes down to there having to be a list created by a couple of well respected people in the community from different levels and wether it’s gonna be 5,10 or 25 distro’s doesn’t matter. Even though 25 should really be the max (there are not more than 25 good distro’s anyway so getting a list of 25 actual good distro’s is hard already. This post is way too long
Actually there is a nice website where members of this community contributed reviews and overviews of the most used distributions but I lost the link and cannot remember the name.
I think it should be what you are looking for.
Probably @kernellinux or somebody else can chime in.
No, just a list. Giving them 3-5 options like Ubuntu, Mint, Pop!_OS, Manjaro and Solus should be the max if someone else can’t make that decision for them. Then explain why they should use one of those distro’s. Mint for average windows users and Pop!_OS for gamers for example. But a little more in depth ofcourse. Throwing around distro’s makes it seem like linux desktop is a disorganized mess (which it actually is). All the other serious options should just be to the side so people can see them if they want but they shouldn’t be recommended and pushed into their faces
@Ulfnicbestdistroforme.com seems to be the solution already. I went through the survey, and it suggested Fedora. Perfect suggestion, since that is what I love to run on my home machines. I’m not a distro hopper, been on Fedora for a while, but I like other distros too.
I have Ubuntu Mate on 2 older work machines. I don’t need to tinker as much with Ubuntu Mate as I enjoy doing with Fedora at home. Ubuntu Mate quickly gets you up and running with the software and codecs needed to get right to work and having things work like videos. Ubuntu Mate can quickly look similar to Window’s with the Redmond panel layout to make things easier for non Linux users.
Bestdistroforme seems to work better than librehunt, at least for me. On first try it recommended Ubuntu Budgie which is the distro that sticked after trying a lot of them when switching to Linux
Alternative is Kubuntu which is the one I’m testing at the moment
Good hearing the thoughts, i’m always looking for the best recommendation. I think @RiderExMachina did a pretty good job of something impossible to get “right”.
My extensions broke librehunt so submit didn’t work at the end even with uMatrix allowing all scripts. Used a blank Firefox profile and it was ok but it gave me a ton of suggestions without much context. I think rider was going for less suggestions more context.
linuxdelta appears to use the opinions of random users as it’s data-set? This is more likely to go right than wrong in a Linux crowd but I think this kind of thing still needs some gate keeping.
Recommended Debian for me which is pretty accurate. I kind of have a love/hate relationship with it though. Default install has so many games and other unneeded mess preinstalled. I always deselect all and just install “everything” myself. I’m currently running openSUSE (both Leap and Tumbleweed). Used to use Fedora alot as well but it’s not really clear to me where they want to go. Some say Silverblue will take over and others don’t. Kinda confusing. So that’s why I chose openSUSE for now. Ubuntu has never really been my thing. Ubuntu itself is fine I guess but all the flavours and derivatives make it feel so messy. Fedora and openSUSE don’t really have serious derivatives for as far as I know which makes it feel more clean because the entire community is actually there instead of at A,G,L,N,Q and Z etc. Arch only has Manjaro. The other “serious” derivatives like Endeavour and Arco actually see themselves as installers and learning distro’s so you’re basically still using Arch. Solus and Void are also pretty nice. openSUSE also actually sticks out from the others. It doesn’t matter if I use Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora, Arch, Manjaro, Solus or Void. At the end of the day they are all the same once I themed it. openSUSE sticks out because of YaST and BTRFS.
Yeah, I recognize that Best Distro For Me isn’t the prettiest option, but I built it with the sole purpose of giving new users a single option to try, instead of having to wade through a whole bunch of choices. It cuts down on the choice paralysis and allows them to just try the system out.
The problem with people who have been in Linux a long time is they’ve been in Linux long enough that they usually already have a favorite distro in mind, which may not be a distro I would want to have in my curated list of distros.
It sounds like you could feel comfortable in just about any distro, I’m kind of like that too. The distros that appeal to me the most are the ones that have sane defaults out of the box, and give me a clear path to interact with a supportive and encouraging community. A lot of distros check those boxes because we are living in good times to be a Linux user.
Just a thought about Fedora. Fedora Workstation is the direction for the desktop. Fedora likes to play with new tech. Fedora is open to niches of people using the Fedora base to make something that works for them, hence the spins and labs. Yes, the Fedora community has mentioned Silverblue as a possible future for the desktop. But “Silverblue Workstation” isn’t happening in the next 6 months or probably even the next year. When this new tech matures to the point that Fedora can shift almost seamlessly from the current architecture of Fedora Workstation to a Silverblue Workstation, then they will make the switch. Silverblue is exciting, but I wouldn’t let talk of Silverblue discourage your use of Fedora on the desktop. I also think that I and the rest of the Fedora community could address some of your concerns with clearer documentation and version release notes.
That being said, if your current distro brings you joy and empowers you to do what you want to do, then stick with it. We have great options. OpenSUSE is great, just ask @CubicleNate. Besides Fedora, I enjoy Ubuntu Mate, and I enjoyed my days long ago running Debian Sid as my desktop. Bunsen Labs, Bodhi Linux, Antix, and MX Linux have amazing communities that would make me feel right at home running those distros as my daily driver too.
I’m impressed with your tool. It seems like it hit homeruns for three of us who tried it out. I’d like to see your psych profiles that you worked up, because you seem to have a good grasp of the psychological make up of the wider Linux community
Seriously, though, good job, I will be interested to see what others discover through your survey tool.
