For backing up my home folder, I just plug in my external drive and use rsync from the terminal, like so (change to your user name; mine is gecko. Double check the paths and edit as necessary)

rsync -av /home/gecko/ /media/gecko/media/emmahomebackup/ --delete --dry-run (test first, check for errors at the end of output, there shouldn't be any unless you messed up the paths)

then,

rsync -av /home/gecko/ /media/gecko/media/emmahomebackup/ --delete

This command will back up your home folder the first time you run it, and on subsequent runs will sync any changes that have occured since the last run.

To restore, reverse the paths.

For backing up my system files (basically, everything outside of my home folder) I just use Timeshift.

Config files for programs are in hidden folders in ~ (as you discovered) OR in ~/.config OR in ~/.local/share (yeah it's a bit of a mess)

Config files for flatpaks can be found under ~/.var/app (usually, some flatpaks have permissions to write outside that directory).

Signed

Fedora benefits Red Hat. It's upstream. I'll avoid what I can, especially something so obvious.

Counterpoint: Fedora is a testing bed for Red Hat. One of Red Hat's notable customers is the US military. I'd prefer to stay off that path if I can help it. It's a matter of trust, and it's a matter of indirectly contributing. I've seen people say the same things about Deepin and everyone nods in agreement, but why the hell should I trust a US project, for the same reasons?

Just as my two cents, as a user - I like flatpaks because I can have up to date versions of certain applications on a more stable Debian base. I also like that application configs all go in one spot (~/.var/app/com.Example.example), and having granular permissions management per application. As for immutable distros, I'd happily use one if I wasn't already getting all the stability I need from LMDE :)

Melania and Ivanka Trump

He's not wrong

Tea, but same.

Almost all of my modern games are indies. Most cost between $5 and $30. I love retro too but if we're going to only include modern "AAA" titles in the comparison...

I like old and new. I love my retro emulators (which I put a lot of effort into setting up just right; and I'd love some original hardware if I could afford it). I also love my PS5.