Linux Mint Debian Edition. I started using Linux in 2007. I've tried a lot of distros, and like several of them, but Mint is the comfiest desktop distro for me.

Archlinux. The wiki and forums are comprehensive, occasional issues I create easy to google, surprisingly reliable. AUR makes it easy to install third-party software.

For the above mentioned reasons, I would recommend you go with one of the big 3: Debian, Fedora, or Arch. Most other distros are either derived from one of the 3 anyways, or are niche.

Ive swapped around but for now im good on Arch, I like the AUR too much and tbh it does what I need (other distros are great and I installed Debian on my families computers but for me I use Arch).

The first linux distro I remember using was Ubuntu 6.06 (Dapper Drake), so I'm just about at 20 years, maybe a bit less than that; I think it had been released for a while before I decided to give it a go. I tend to stick with debian-based distros, though I've used arch variants off and on for my daily driver for years at a time. Still got it kicking around on some machines now, though not any of my daily drivers. Servers are a mix of Debian and Ubuntu Server, machines with UI are either Ubuntu or Mint, or some resource-light version of Ubuntu, depending on the device and the mood when I last reformatted them. I have used Fedora/RedHat/CentOS at various points, but usually because someone was paying me to do so. Same story with OpenSUSE, but even less commonly. I have a few devices running variously dated versions of PostmarketOS, Lineage OS, even one device that still runs CyanogenMod (it does not get internet privileges). I have a few Raspberry PIs that all run Raspbian (or whatever it's called now).

EDIT: Just remembered I used to use CrunchBang Linux for a long time. I bought the only computer I could afford (a "netbook" with Win 10 Starter), put crunchbang on it (after experimenting with a few distros), and really kinda fell in love with OpenBox. I don't use it anymore because I don't like the default settings and haven't been bothered to set it up properly lately, but I had that netbook set up just so and it worked really well. it was my main and only computer for several years.

People are going to hate me for this, but here goes...

I'm using Ubuntu.

Ubuntu Studio, to be precise.

Arch for 13 Years. No distro hopping. The AUR and Wiki are the greatest resources any Linux distro has and I'm not giving them up for anything else. There were periods where I dual booted with Windows for gaming but that's been dead and gone for 5 years. At this point the only times it breaks is because of user error which there is not much of any more.

I think I started back in the day with Ubuntu Gnome, with some dabbling in Manjaro and then Arch.

But since then I have used Fedora Workstation, and then Fedora Silverblue / Fedora Kinoite (immutable versions of fedora, with the past several years on Kinoite [kde] over Silverblue [gnome])

On the server side of things, I am using Debian (with everything running in podman containers).

If I were to consider migrating, it would be to migrate my laptop to secureblue (likely, rebasing the OS image rather than clean-installing) and migrate my Windows 11 desktop to bazzite. Both of these are still based on Fedora's immutable base, albeit with changes to the base OS image. At some point in the future, I would also consider migrating my server to an immutable OS, however, which one remains to be seen.

I hopped around a little but settled into Debian a long, long time ago. My son loves Arch, I like my stuff to be a bit more stable and don't have the time to update between commands all the time (its a joke but has a little truth to it).

I started with Slackware in the early 90s, moved to Gentoo in 2004 after using FreeBSD for a while, and Arch linux since 2007. Gentoo was too much work (both for my and for my CPU's) in the long run. It has been more predictable (in spite of being a rolling release) for me than anything else,

Gaming PC - Nobara (Fedora base with lots of gaming-specifc kernel optimizations baked in.)

Personal laptop - Linux Mint

Business laptop - Linux Mint Debian Edition

Junk/Test laptops - Void

Home lab main hypervisor - XCP-ng (Highly customized Fedora under the hood.)

NAS - TrueNAS (Debian under the hood.)

Virtual servers - Mostly Debian, but a few Alma Linux VMs to get that RHEL experience. Ubuntu Server for my self-hosted gaming servers.

Steam Deck - SteamOS (Valve's immutable spin of Arch.)

Devuan now

Fedora

OpenSUSE if you want something non American and not directly related to RedHat

I’ve used Ubuntu, Arch, and Void in the past. Ended up settling on Fedora Silverblue for the time being.

Arch everywhere (desktop with KDE, personal laptop with GNOME, work laptop with COSMIC, a remote raspberry pi) except a Raspberry Pi Zero (Raspbian) and the Steam Deck

Up until recently, Debian on everything. Main PC/ laptop are running Artix (Arch minus systemd) and my servers are still on Debian

I’ve been a daily Linux user for sometime between 25-30 years. I’ve used most major distros and the BSDs. For the last several years I’ve used vanilla Fedora Workstation. After a while you just want to use your computer instead of tinker with it.

Started with Lubuntu in 2011, then I used Bodhi for many years. 3 or 4 years ago I switched to Linux Lite. Now I use Debian and Lite for myself and my wife's laptop is set up with Mint XFCE. Right now I'm testing out what works best with a detachable laptop that has limited hardware capabilities.

(Please recommend me a lightweight Distro with good touch integration that's not KDE Plasma, Debian with Gnome (Debian-based Distro is okay) or PostmarketOS. Or a lightweight DE with touch gestures that also supports display scaling.)

Debian Trixie headless on my router/server raspberry pi and NixOs on my laptop.

However I'm planning to switch from Nix this summer since one of the maintainers of NixOs is the one which added age verification to systemd, still haven't decided on which Os I'll switch to probably Devuan os but may give Alpine a shot since it's more stable than Arch btw, so I'll just be ricing and distro hopping this summer until I pick my new favorite again.

Windows ...

Because I don't want an OS that just works.

Opensuse since back in the SuSE days. I've dabbled with other distros and even had a somewhat extended run with Fedora when their Gnome implementation was better, but I've always gone back to SuSE. mostly I just like Yast although I find I've used it less and less with time spent understanding what it does and how to do that other ways.

I'm using Linux.

Been using linux for 7+ years, first distro was mint, then I moved to manjaro, for the last couple years I've been using Guix, a Nix inspired distro.

Fedora Atomic for user facing devices.

Fedora Server for servers.

Most answers seem to be Debian. Sort of just works for me as well. With KDE Plasma and couldn't be happier with it. I keep on forgetting how I did stuff though because it's solid set and forget most of the time.

my first install of debian was before it had names. my most recent was last tuesday. i've strayed for short stints, but debian is where it's at. i do have a couple 'others' but they are special setups for specific things.

if you like the deb-based system but want to get away from canonical, trixie is ready to rescue you.

I have been using unixes since 2000 and technically a bit before that as a user in school systems and linux since 2005. I am currently using zorin but have a long term trial to go towards and image type of system like bazzite. Thing is I have been doing this stuff to long and now I prefer to have stuff that just works and go rather than having to futz around. So my emphasis is on lazy linux. Its kinda funny because I sometimes talk about why I do and don't do things at the command line and I will get responses about learning it more and I kinda got to roll my eyes.

I use LinuxMint and have been since 2018 or so. I have been using since 2007. Though the first time I tried using it was in 2003 but it didn't go well for me at the time.

Slackware. In 27-ish years of using it, it's never once crashed or failed to install

slackware ftw

Now using CachyOS, I recommend Bazzite to newcomers.

On my server I run Ubuntu and on my desktop I'm running Linux mint because it just fucking works and I don't got to mess with shit.

Question to users and distro hoppers. I've grown to love Mint used it for years. But sometimes it updates and moves my game folders, loses my saves and I have to hunt in my system and hope I find my precious years long game saves.

Is there such thing as a distro that never changes the structure where truly all my files, system files, games will all be the same over years?

I've tried NIX and liked it, I've tried LMDE and Stock Mint with Ubuntu bugs yay, I've tried base Debian 13, and lastly Fedora kinoite..

Whats a system that updates but doesn't lose my shit when I just want to game and use my PC? I like having all my files never move, structure of system never change, but having the ability to run steam and heroic games of all types. I'm still back to Stock Mint Ubuntu but dammit if they don't introduce bugs sometimes. Like suspend / resume audio doesn't work after sleeping my desktop and back on without restarting.

I'm currently running tumbleweed on my main, mostly because that's what I happened to install last time I rebuilt my desktop.

I've been running other distros before, and I must say that (bar a couple bad experiences) I could still be using any of them.

Tumbleweed is the first rolling distro I've used for a prolonged time (3 or 4 years now?): before I only did two short experiments with void linux (loved it, but I'd rather have systemd) and manjaro (I was still young and stupid).

I don't think I'll go back to non-rolling: tumbleweed never broke on me (and if it did, it has snapshots) and being rolling there is zero update stress (has the new version come out? what's new? should I update now or wait for for the .1?).

Next time I install I will probably try nixos (which isn't really rolling - but it's not non-rolling either), which I've been using on servers for a while now and fell in love with (love-hate, that is: the learning curve is steep, the documentation poor, and there are infuriating points - but I feel like it's still more than worth it).

As you will have noticed I'm not even considering "immutable" distros: honestly, I don't see the point there (they seem like a lot of effort to solve problems I don't have).

I used a lot over the last 25 years of Linux, started with Debian, Suse Linux, then some years with Gentoo (i learned so much in that time, I can recommend it), and now I am using Arch.

Arch gives me lots of the freedoms and possibilites that I am used to from Gentoo but without the constant pain of compilation. I have Arch on my Desktop, all my servers, my NAS

Mint, after about 20 years of Linux.

I think I tested a bunch of Linux distros about 2006, and settled on running Ubuntu v6 on an old laptop for occasional use and learning. Ubuntu was brown and it looked beautiful.

Later, I dual booted Ubuntu and Windows XP on my main computer from about 2008 until about 2014ish - I remember being annoyed that I had to install some launcher thing called "Steam for Linux" so I could play this newly released Linux game called "Crusader Kings II" (I was sure I'd never use this "Steam" thing for anything else).

2 laptops and one desktop bought since 2014 have been Linux exclusive. The old desktop still chugs along on Ubuntu, having been upgraded through versions for over a decade, and somehow still works. The old laptop and newer laptop (my main machine) have only ever run Mint.

Turns out that "Steam" thing was quite useful.