this post was submitted on 02 Jan 2026
365 points (97.7% liked)
linuxmemes
28820 readers
106 users here now
Hint: :q!
Sister communities:
Community rules (click to expand)
1. Follow the site-wide rules
- Instance-wide TOS: https://legal.lemmy.world/tos/
- Lemmy code of conduct: https://join-lemmy.org/docs/code_of_conduct.html
2. Be civil
- Understand the difference between a joke and an insult.
- Do not harrass or attack users for any reason. This includes using blanket terms, like "every user of thing".
- Don't get baited into back-and-forth insults. We are not animals.
- Leave remarks of "peasantry" to the PCMR community. If you dislike an OS/service/application, attack the thing you dislike, not the individuals who use it. Some people may not have a choice.
- Bigotry will not be tolerated.
3. Post Linux-related content
- Including Unix and BSD.
- Non-Linux content is acceptable as long as it makes a reference to Linux. For example, the poorly made mockery of
sudo in Windows.
- No porn, no politics, no trolling or ragebaiting.
- Don't come looking for advice, this is not the right community.
4. No recent reposts
- Everybody uses Arch btw, can't quit Vim, <loves/tolerates/hates> systemd, and wants to interject for a moment. You can stop now.
5. ๐ฌ๐ง Language/ัะทัะบ/Sprache
- This is primarily an English-speaking community. ๐ฌ๐ง๐ฆ๐บ๐บ๐ธ
- Comments written in other languages are allowed.
- The substance of a post should be comprehensible for people who only speak English.
- Titles and post bodies written in other languages will be allowed, but only as long as the above rule is observed.
6. (NEW!) Regarding public figures
We all have our opinions, and certain public figures can be divisive. Keep in mind that this is a community for memes and light-hearted fun, not for airing grievances or leveling accusations.
- Keep discussions polite and free of disparagement.
- We are never in possession of all of the facts. Defamatory comments will not be tolerated.
- Discussions that get too heated will be locked and offending comments removed.
ย
Please report posts and comments that break these rules!
Important: never execute code or follow advice that you don't understand or can't verify, especially here. The word of the day is credibility. This is a meme community -- even the most helpful comments might just be shitposts that can damage your system. Be aware, be smart, don't remove France.
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
Same thing with Fediverse instances.
IMO the linux and/or fediverse community could learn a thing or two about UX from the establishment.
I believe the best approach is to take note of the Pareto Principle: 20% of instances / distros would meet the need of 80% of users.
I would simply recommend Ubuntu / lemmy.world to complete beginners (just based on market share). If they are interested in alternatives, they would naturally seek those out themselves.
This concept is nothing new e.g. Google presents their searchbar front and centre; power users would click on "Advance Search" for their needs.
I started mainlining Linux about a year and a half ago after playing with it for a bit in 2007-ish and running a headless server for a decade or so.
I just installed Ubuntu because that was what Framework officially supported. I can't think of what a newbie user would find lacking with Ubuntu. It does about everything that Windows does fine. I've heard similar things about Mint. Why do we have to over-complicate things for new users? Just shove them towards a distro and let them know they can probably fix whatever they don't like with a reinstall later.
If someone were to recommend me a distro with the GNOME desktop environment then I would not be a Linux for long. GNOME is weird and confusing. I am convinced that KDE Plasma, Cinnamon, LXDE and other more Windows-like desktops is better for a new Linux user. If they want an alternative desktop environment they can seek it out themselves.
We would have lost a newbie by this point.
I don't think we are representative of the average user. For example, none of my family heard of these terms, or even care. They just want to browse the web, watch some Youtube videos, and that's it.
That why they shouldn't be recommended anything that has to do with GNOME. Just give them anything that closely resembles Windows.
I installed Linux Mint on my mom's old laptop and on my stepmother's aunt's laptop as well. I have had 0 support calls since then! As you say, all they want to do is browse the web.