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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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Share Your Favorite Linux Distros and Why You Love Them (lemmy.fmhy.ml)

submitted 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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So we can clearly see the most popular distros and the reasons why people use them, please follow this format:

Write the name of the Linux distro as a first-level comment.
Reply to that comment with each reason you like the distro as a separate answer.

For example:

Distro (first-level comment)
- Reason (one answer)
- Other reason (a different answer)

Please avoid duplicating options. This will help us better understand the most popular distros and the reasons why people use them.

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

            
              Arch
Debian
My favorite overall, they're community-run, stable, well-maintained, have a rich history of being awesome, and they're just top quality general-purpose distros. I tend to use Arch for more recent desktop systems and Debian for server systems or older desktops.

NixOS
What I'm dabbling with currently, the concepts here are amazing but it's a bit of work at first to truly get value out of it. Still, seems to be a good option for my next notebook OS.

Fedora Silverblue (respectively the immutable variants)
Also cool, as is Fedora in general, although with the recent Red Hat fiasco and Fedora's plan to introduce opt-out telemetry I'm more hesitant now. Some time ago I'd have listed Fedora at the top but now it's slid down a bit.

Mint
Kubuntu
Easy recommendations for new users coming from Windows

VanillaOS
I like the idea of making it possible to install packages from all distros (they will then run in a distro-specific container). I wouldn't use it, but it's cool

Kali
Tails
Alpine
From the more specific distros

Slackware
Honorable mention, because it introduced me to Linux back in the day (yes, I liked starting the ~~hard~~ Unix way). I wouldn't recommend it these days but it's kind of like the granddaddy of all Linux distros, and it was awesome in its prime. I'm sure it can still be used today but it's gotten quite niche.