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this post was submitted on 23 Aug 2023
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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).
Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.
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For me the question is rather, what's the current raison d'être for Ubuntu if you're not looking for Debian with paid support?
Granted it's been long since I've used it (I used it from 2005 or so until 2008 when I switched to Arch), but there's no really appealing quality for me there that I couldn't have with Debian. Apart from that, Canonical makes questionable decisions – snap, as others have mentioned, a total disaster in my opinion; Mir was another of their misadventures (later retrofitted into a Wayland compositor); upstart didn't turn out successful (though to give credit, it was an honest attempt at a new init system and lessons were learned); the LXD maintainer issue as of late leaves a sore taste in my mouth, plus they were always very community-unfriendly with their CLAs. And all this for what? Might as well use their upstream instead.
Ubuntu has the largest community around it, meaning you'll find help for it the fastest.
Granted, some issues are distro-agnostic, but you can't always know whether yours is, especially if you are newer to Linux.
Some issues just stem from Ubuntu itself though. Granted those aren't all and maybe not even a big portion, but they do exist. I had huge issues upgrading Ubuntu back when I used it if Nvidia drivers were installed. On Arch, it was trivial. At work, we have VMs running Ubuntu 20.04 and we were advised not to upgrade because they no longer work correctly after upgrading (these are special VMs not in our company network for testing and stuff under administration of the user with only the initial image rolled out centrally).
I can see why a new user might be attracted to using Ubuntu, and without trying to talk anyone down, my reasoning was more something for educated users who make an informed decision on which distribution to run, which is not something you can ask from a novice.
Also, while I know this isn't the best metric, Debian currently ranks above Ubuntu on Distrowatch, so interest is there, which is nice; personally I wouldn't recommend anything Debian based to experienced users but also wouldn't explicitly warn against Debian either. I think their approach of a distribution is outdated, but they're a driving force behind some innovations like reproducible builds, so it kind of evens out.
Fastest help is Archwiki, even if you run Ubuntu...
Hard false. This is only true for experienced users. For me the Arch wiki is great, for a novice it isn't.
I disagree. It's very detailed and I think it can both help a novice and help a novice become less of a novice.