this post was submitted on 16 Mar 2026
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Linux
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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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Depends really. Small community distros serve a purpose as they either provide some niche configurations or pre-installed software that major distros don't, or they are made because they are trying to fork a major distros that is becoming too corporate with risk of becoming less open source. Now within community distros there are reputations. Debian is famously a community driven distro that hundreds of other distros are based on, and so is arch. They are pretty stable and will last more and more. Also, corporate distro doesn't guarantee longevity or stability either, because there are several corporate projects that get abandoned and are picked up by communities.
I would say that a large community distro has most longevity of all variants. It doesn't matter if some leave, others will join. It also doesn't matter that the distro ain't making profit, because it isn't a company.
Yeah, but the keyword is large. Because there are many community distros that are hardly updated. Case and point, Spiral Linux is still stuck in bookworm, even though this week 450 people downloaded its iso.
Ah, true that.