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hedora

Linux has been going down hill, but since you can choose distributions, there is an escape hatch.

I’ve been moving all my machines to devuan with xfce (or freebsd with xfce).

I have zero issues despite not having to deal with wayland, systemd, snap, etc.

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I'm not a kernel plumber, but I don't think Wayland, systemd or snap are necessarily part of Linux whatsoever.

You might think that desktop environments are going downhill (which is a fair opinion), but Steam reports an all-time high adoption of desktop Linux in 2026: https://www.gamingonlinux.com/steam-tracker/

Exactly. In a broad sense, 'Linux' is an idea not a specific thing. I mean, yes, there is a specific kernel but beyond that it is flexible beyond reason.

I have stuck with distros that are not trying to chase the latest trends but keep a ethical high ground.

Yup, that's the benefit. To each their own on Linux. I absolutely love Wayland and Systemd (snap... not so much), but no one is forcing me to use them or not use them, and that's the way I like it.

CachyOS was the one who moved me from Ubuntu/Debian based distros.

I could not disagree more. I have been using linux for about 15 years. Linux is better now than it ever was.

I've been using Linux as myninly desktop OS for ~25 years now and I agree. I can't really understand the irrational hate of a vocal minority towards systemd, pulseaudio etc

I think there has always been a gate keeping minority that liked the dysfunction. Or more specifically, they liked that they could figure out how to correct the dysfunction while others struggled. That really obnoxious, insecure, computer nerd personality type. So glad I can just block those motherfuckers now instead of begging for their assistance.

To me, Linux was at its peak around 2005-2010. From then on it went downhill, unfortunately.

That's a baffling take. The era when hardware compatibility was a coin flip (I vividly remember having to download WiFi adapter drivers on another computer to get a fresh Linux install connected), when most desktop environments were poorly developed and very prone to crashing, was your favourite? I suspect this might be a big case of rose-tinted glasses. Linux has never been more "it just works" and accessible than it is now.

Exactly. I have forgot at this point how things use to be with how well everything just works.

I am typing this on a gaming laptop with a Nvidia card that probably would have been a nightmare trying to use linux not too long ago but instead it is an absolute dream machine.

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