I see often people say that the distro you are using doesn’t matter. One can turn any distro into another. And I do not agree with that. If that was true, why do we even have so many distributions? I always said, if distros don’t matter…

  • … why distro hop?
  • … why don’t you use Ubuntu then?
  • … why don’t you recommend Archlinux to a newcomer?
  • … why don’t you use Kali Linux as a server?
  • … why don’t you use Batocera or SteamOS as your daily driver?
  • … why do you trust a community distro more than a corporate distro? (or vice versa)

I don’t think that distros only matter to newcomers. Maybe it matters for experienced users even more.

  • ambitiousslab@feddit.ukEnglish
    7·
    6 hours ago

    For me it comes down to trust, since the distro maintainers have root on your system. You’d better trust their competence and alignment with your values!

    • edel@lemmy.mlEnglish
      1·
      5 hours ago

      This is actually critically! I love little distros, but it does break my heart that they cannot give the same reassurance on potential malware as Mint would. Many here we are anti-AI but FOSS could benefit a lot from it… it can automatized checking for malware on peanuts. DistroWatch, Flatpak store, Debian backports, etc should be using AI already across the board to check for malware and that would level dramatically the plain field for all.

      • atzanteol@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
        3·
        5 hours ago

        I love little distros, but it does break my heart that they cannot give the same reassurance on potential malware as Mint would.

        Don’t forget their ability to patch critical security issues in a timely manner.