Post #3753359

2026-07-12 04:06 UTC

Newbies will ask stupid questions, that’s not their fault. The people answering should know better than to answer with their favorite distros. The correct answer is “pick a popular one and don’t worry about the differences, you’re too inexperienced to notice them anyway.”

Replies (2)

@lemmyvore@feddit.nl 2026-07-12 11:30

I second this. Linux by its nature is very customizable. Once you start asking about it you’re entering the rabbit hole. There’s no way to help someone navigate that if they don’t know what they want – and they wouldn’t, yet, as a beginner. So I know that recommending the same handful of distros to beginners is trite and has been done do death… but really it’s all you can do until they get a bit more accustomed to the culture, and the community, and they see what’s possible and so on. As a counterexample look at the people holding on to Windows for dear life and how little weight any Linux suggestion carries with them. You can’t get through to someone who doesn’t want to hear it.

Open ##3760506
@nootux@lemmy.ml 2026-07-16 05:45

I am new to linux, I chose mint due to its popularity and noted stability. I just wanted an OS that worked for me not against me that was beginner friendly for a user moving from windows 10. I have been on it for a while now, encountered the odd issue (facing a tricky one now) but working through them. I chose popularity because I thought if I encounter issues, I am more likely to find answers. Also, it must be popular for a reason. Just a new linux user agreeing with what you have to say.

Open ##3851389