I can relate to All41's reply.
I build and work on computers and laptops as a 20 yr hobby so that's my niche. Doesn't make me an expert at anything such as file systems, distros, OS's or anything else.
I came from the Commodore Vic 20 days, where you could do a little but it also was groundbreaking back then lol. It was still fun and entertaining AND when IBM rolled around the corner I had some of the basic concepts already built in. Part of my issue is (that I've recognized) we're humanly flawed in that we feel secure in what we know, mostly repetitious. This become more evident the older you get too.
When Linux Ubuntu initially came out I knew LINUX was for the most part command line processing based. I hated and never took the time to learn MS-DOS (except for a few commands) because it was a masochistic headborne road map you had to have available on a moments notice (Windows 1 and windows 3.1). Then we got Windows 95 a GUI based platform that anyone could use and steer through, pretty much. And then it got easier with each version up to 10 now and soon 11.
My issue, and maybe it's because I am older now, isn't it always good for someone to know how something works in the event it goes wrong? Yes, I joined and stayed with the Windows crowd because it was easier to use and took less of my time to understand it but in the back of my mind I'm always thinking "what can't we see"? Call it paranoia or reasonably cautious optimism but as the computer has evolved it has made "personal data" the new gold commodity that many are out of the loop on.
I like being able to retain at least a small amount of my privacy just for my own sense of security.
To your question, I have tried some of the other distros and when I expected Windows it acted like Linux, as it should. It's made it difficult to understand common things I do in Microsoft that actually need some thought behind the action in Linux. Mint for me crossed that chasm but I had to think about why. I'm still a n00b with Mint so take my response for what it's not worth
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A big part for me was the desktop. Upon initially trying it, it also reacted without me having to do a ton of command line processing. I still had to figure out how to get packages for my wifi, etc. but they were now fairly readily available without having to spend days searching through sites to find the drivers and then figure out how to install the things I needed to work. I've gone through that with some distros and it came down to why am I having to build this to work internally? Throw in emotions of frustration, inadequacy, failure, anger, loathing, hate.
Then to top it off I would go to those distros forums and get verbally assaulted by the OP(s) for my lack of knowledge that were often times not covered in the forums. I won't say which distro was the worst back then but it started with an 'A' lol.
IF you're trying to build a base of users, collectors, buyers, the last thing you want to do is make an already bad situation worse. That's exactly what happened in EVERY distro forum I went into. And I'm not thin skinned either but I expect something framed on the premise of HELP to be helpful. Not at all what I got. I still wanted to learn Linux in spite of what I had run into. I waited, and waited....finally another distro came along that I liked the look of. Not only that but it was simple to install. It was actually user-friendly too. And then I had a question about something in the distro and someone took a few minutes to explain something to me that completely turned around my previous experiences. I got treated like a human being for a change!
I understand not everyone is going to like an opinion or thought, that's to be expected. But when someone is simply trying to grasp how something works or how to get something to work the last thing I need is the top dog chiming in to get a few lashes in to satisfy their ego. That's what I often times ran into starting in 2008 and followed though even if to a lesser degree years later. The Mint community and Forum has absolutely changed how I perceive Linux now. It's very friendly in comparison and they seem to actually want people to learn the distro.
Even many ex-Linux users and even current ones had the same complaint. A lot of it started with the command line processing scheme but EVERY conversation ended on Forum abuse, literally every single one! Call it "the door" to Linux because that IS what it IS! That entry into "the door" is either going to be a good experience or a terrible one and it does matter. Even a recent post to someone who had created a Linux help video agreed the Forums HAVE been the major problem in may distros.
Given that, I do understand how frustrating it can be with people asking repeated questions about issues that may have been solved somewhere in the Forum but when you have n00bs it's going to happen. People genuinely are there for help not to scratch your last nerve. And we certainly don't show up to be slaughtered to better someone's ego.
So sorry for the long explanation but that's why I chose the distro I'm currently using and hoping to learn.
We just want to be able to use something that works for us and that we can fix if it doesn't do what we need to. The other variables can be endless but more importantly (to me) is a receptive community that acts like a helpful community and not individuals! We all started somewhere!
--I am awed)
