Linux

OpenSUSE Tumbleweed. I like it for being a rolling release with quality control. On the one hand I don't like its restrictive defaults but on the other hand I know enough to work with them and that's given me a leaner system.

Debian as a server base OS is well-tested and (for me) ultra reliably stable.

I use Arch. I use the command-line to update, I am very glad that I can do the updates when I do want them. Of course, going over the update list is my responsibility, but such is the power my OS grants me—I can make or break things.

Otherwise, yeah, it's the customization it offers me. I can make it as janky as I want it to be, or rice it to my heart's content.

Arch Linux because it has sane defaults, is rolling, up to date, helpful community, awesome wiki and is minimalistic.

Mint is up to date but less buggy than Ubuntu, and it has served me well for years without problems. The UI is very conventional so I don't spend time thinking about where stuff is. It supports multiple packaging systems now, so it's easy to find and install software. You don't have to go to anywhere as dodgy as the Arch User Repository to find what you need. Mint is not too conservative, not too cutting edge either, and not restrictive due to ideology. It's boring and it works and I can just get on with stuff.

When I used Debian, it was stable and I love it.

Now I use Alpine (Edge). I like it because I feel like I am learning more about troubleshooting issues but also because the packages are very up to date.

As a desktop Linux user who doesn't develop or code in any way, or work with servers, or containers, I found Alpine to be very accessible and the community has bren very patient with my different issues.

Despite how comfortable it is, I think I may end up going back to Debian or finally taking Fedora for a spin. Not for at least a year though.

I like that I don't even care about it. The main user of it is my wife, who is non-technical. It's the only computer she uses, for everything (browsing, shopping, banking, word processing, printing) for 20+ years, and if you ask her which distro it is, well, she doesn't know what "distro" means.

She doesn't "use Linux" because she wanted to "learn Linux" nor to "try this distro". She uses youtube, instagram, the bank site, amazon, libreoffice, etc. The closest she gets to the OS is accepting the package manager prompt to update.

I wish one day most people can answer your question with "I don't know, whatever came with my computer", because it'll mean all of them are as easy to use, as unobtrusive and as unimportant to the user as possible.

But to finally answer it, kubuntu, some ancient, still updatable LTS version (can't even recall when I last upgraded), because it was easier for my wife to adapt, coming from windows 95 when she started using it.

pacman/yay

Also, Arch wiki.

All else is aesthetics.

Gentoo. Great rolling release that is stable and had timely updates, but has the flexibility to configure my system down to the tiniest details, with a great and knowledgable community. I love source-based distros and Gentoo is definitely the best.

Ubuntu MATE. I love its simplicity, and the fact that it's based on Debian.

Also, UbuntuForums and AskUbuntu are great places to find help.

I tried Tumbleweed for a while but ended up going back to Fedora. Super polished while still fast moving.

Fedora, why I like it:

• The community is strong with lots of knowledgeable users with patience to help others out.

• The release cycle gets the balance just right between having predictable updates and the latest software. Fedora's testing process is very good, you rarely have problems.

• Controversial one: strong financial backing from Red Hat means that Fedora is very unlikely to sell out or turn evil, at least not without a lot of notice.

Void linux rolling release, xbps fast installing packages

I use Arch because it's so customizable and there's so much more freedom. Once I installed Arch I realized I'd never go back to Ubuntu. I'm so used to using the command line all the time now it feels weird and annoying when I have to use something with a GUI desktop environment (I use i3.) People always tell me when they see my system in public (it's a ThinkPad) it looks clunky, but even the inability to set custom time/date settings in KDE was mildly annoying to me.

I sincerely think CLIs and TUIs are no harder than "user-friendly" GUIs but they're just too far from the average modern person's experience for this to be acknowledged. Using nmtui to connect to WiFi is hardly more difficult than what Windows or macOS do.

I also really love pacman, the AUR, and the Arch Wiki.

I like using Lubuntu because it's lightweight and feels pretty snappy on my 2009 laptop.

pop os : 1. fast installation 2. nvidia works.

i use arch, it's amazing, everything i wanna do works other then games since i have some old cheap nvidia gpu which is hardware fault itself, i wanna do developer tasks just works, wanna do tweaks just works and it's fun to use. i tried using other Distros i just can't use debian based or arch based just bare bone arch with gnome or xfce depending on my mood. if i switch fedora is always my 2nd choice but not sure after some news released on red hat I didn't stick to fedora because of lack of package or something like that just package management things kept me in arch.

Arch: I like the knowledge and understanding that comes with regular usage. I've learned a lot about my system that I probably wouldn't have otherwise. Also the PKGBUILD system / AUR.

• Nobara for my gaming rig, same as OP + lots of out of the box gaming fixes.

• Tumbleweed for the laptop, rolling release while (in my experience) being a bit less likely to break than arch.

• Ubuntu/Debian/MicroOS/Alma for servers depending on whether I want stability + some fresher software, mountain-like stability, automatically updating container hosts or if I need redhat compatibility.

• Mint if its someone elses old computer they want to "just work", since I dislike being tech support more than necessary.

Running Endeavor OS. Painless installation, everything works outta the box, good community, no release/lts bullshit. If it breaks, just rollback.

i've been distro-hopping a lot and always come back to linux mint. It's that one distro i can't fuck up when fiddling with things. it just works

Crux user here. I like the port tree system and simple package building recipes. It's also a distro that kept things very simple over the years despite the rise of dbus and systems. Also the mascot.

I've been distrohopping for the decade+ I've been using Linux. Keep coming back to Arch. Once I get the initial install done, everything works and I don't need to touch anything.

Easy support for the newest Linux desktop technologies, like Wayland and Pipewire. I fun Fedora.

I was excited when I bought an Amiga 500, and ever since then the main thing I noticed is that the EXCITEMENT of getting a computer was always over-ruled by my ability to exploit it's powers and use it.

So my perspective is that all computers and operating systems SUCK. But some suck less than others...

So using Manjaro KDE, it sucks less because it's very simple and easy for me to install whatever I like - having AUR available, being able to search with pamac to include repos, AUR and Flatpak (even snap if I was that desperate).

KDE also gives you super powers to ~~fuck up~~ modify your desktop experience and shortcuts.

It's been good to me for 6 years now. After going Ubuntu>Mint I was excited to leave Debian and try something else, I never made it to the Redhat camp (always interested to try Fedora) and hopefully will never feel the need.

So yes, what I like MOST is - it mostly just works. And when it fails, the forum is awesome.

The job security.

After trying dozens of distros the enjoyment of the new faded and I just wanted something that installed with the minimum amount of fuss and was stable as a rock. The distro that has best fit that combination of attributes (at least on my machines) has been Linux Mint.

Been using Linuxmint as daily driver now for 2-3 years. I can do all my remote work needed (Outlook using Prospect Mail, MS Teams, Slack, Zoom, Libre/OnlyOffice).

Also Steam gaming on Linux has vastly improved incl everything that works with Proton. RocketLeague and a few others I always play run perfect within proton, and I've found lot of Linux native A-titles like Tomb Raider, Dying Light,Payday2 and Warhammer that all run awesome and gave kickass graphics running natively.

TIMESHIFT has been a life saver a few times when I was messing with various AMD graphics drivers (kisak) and custom kernel like XanMod. Knock on wood it's been almost a year since any major issues though. But I know I can roll back a day or two (or max, a week) and have everything restored and running within a few hours. It's awesome.

MX Linux AHS because of xfce, it's fast, stable, use a recent kernel, no systemd.

Debian 12 have been rock solid for me. Use it for gaming with my Nvidia card and the driver installation have been painless and easy. Mainly been using it as a normal desktop using Gnome and gaming with Steam.

Was previously running Arch based distribution ArcoLinux, but was getting tired of the updating maintenance and config file conflicts.

Debian is just stable and a few updates a week. Flatpak fixes the old packages that repository have for those applications I just “need”.

I might as well ask here:

Im running arch on my Desktop. Mostly just to Experiment a bit, nothing to serious, Laptop is ubuntu, and both are dualboot with Windows for Gaming (nvdia gpu in both).

The Main reason to use arch was to play around with Windows Managers like hyprland. However I get the feeling that some stuff is simply missing and or configured wrong on the System.

Is it a better idea to start with something like endeavor with sway and start ricing from there?