this post was submitted on 04 Feb 2026
137 points (94.8% liked)

Linux

62471 readers
434 users here now

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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.

Rules

Related Communities

Community icon by Alpár-Etele Méder, licensed under CC BY 3.0

founded 6 years ago
MODERATORS
 

I distro hopped for a bit before finally settling in Debian (because Debian was always mentioned as a distro good for servers, or stable machines that are ok with outdated software)

And while I get that Debian does have software that isn't as up to date, I've never felt that the software was that outdated. Before landing on Debian, I always ran into small hiccups that caused me issues as a new Linux user - but when I finally switched over to Debian, everything just worked! Especially now with Debian 13.

So my question is: why does Debian always get dismissed as inferior for everyday drivers, and instead mint, Ubuntu, or even Zorin get recommended? Is there something I am missing, or does it really just come down to people not wanting software that isn't "cutting edge" release?

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] Horse@lemmygrad.ml 2 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

Also the rise of immutable distros means that it’s stability isn’t as much of a selling point as it used to be

in my experience, most distros have become more stable over the years, closing the gap with debian
for example, i've only borked my arch install to the point i had to mess with it for 20 mins before i could get it to boot again once in the ~5 years i've used it as my daily and i'm not exactly careful with it