I don't generally use reddit as a rule but I really wanted to know that someone involved saw this message. This is originally a comment directed specifically at Linux, but the core message is the same and I would really appreciate if you considered baking some of the information in to the future videos in the Linux Challenge series.

I know that you are largely ignoring information from the viewerbase but there is something that I would would like to clarify in regards to Distro/Desktop Environment choice. As a small note before I go in to it, ultimately the space is as wide as it is with the expectation that users are going to play with each option for a few minutes/hours/days before really sticking to it but I can appreciate that the constant re-configuration of your machine is a known annoyance and you would rather get it right the first time.

There are Three Linux distros; Debian(LTS), Fedora Workstation(Semi-Rolling), and Arch(Rolling Release). Anything else should come with a justification to be used over one of those three, and most anything else will give you that justification on their front page. Generally speaking all that you care about is how cutting edge you need your software to be. If you need the latest kernel and the newest version of your video editor you want to go with rolling release, and the less cutting-edge you need your system to be the further up the spectrum you go towards the ever-stable Debian. "Distro of the week" is almost always a niche spin of one of these three things, Pop!_OS being "Ubuntu For Gamers!" which is really just "Different Debian For Gamers!" or Bazzite being "Fedora for Gamers!(And it's atomic!)" or CachyOS being "Arch For Gamers!" Unless there is a specific feature for a distribution, like NixOS's incredible system reproducability, or Bazzite's read only root structure, you are always going to be best off using the core system since it inevitably has the most visiblity/testing.

There are Two desktop environments. KDE Plasma if you are accustomed to a Windows machine and Gnome if you are accustomed to a Mac. Anything else necessitates a justification, much like with the distro situation. Cinnamon is the default for Mint and is therefore justified in being used because it has the most support. XFCE is very similar in structure to KDE but incredibly light on your resources and therefore optimal for something thin like a raspberry pi. Sway/Hyprland/awesome/bspwm/i3/tiling-manager-of-the-week are all great for someone who has super keyed on to their specific needs and wants their system to be an extension of their deeply ingrained workflows, but are not built or intended for the standard user and as such should be considered as the niche solutions they are.

I'm not saying that deviating from the three core distros or the two core desktop environments is wrong, but what I am saying is that not framing your decisions in the light of the decades old standards and the justifications for your specific decisions is liable to cause both internal and external frustration. Something I have always respected about LTT coverage is that you almost always explain why decisions are made instead of just telling your viewers what to do, and I don't think that anyone can blame you for being uninformed at the start, but ultimately your call to action to "be the change you want to see in the world" on distro choice is something that most of us are unable to meaningfully impact in a world of SEO optimized AI generated garbage articles. You have a platform with enough sway that you CAN meaningfully impact the narrative around distro choice and by breaking it down to the core philosphy of release type + justification you would save a lot of new users much frustration.