Linux

I don't know if I'm a "hopper", because I haven't used that many. But I started with Slackware in the late 90s. I put Red Hat on a friend's computer (and was promptly unable to help with it) somewhere around 2001.

Around 2010 or so I switched my desktop and laptop from Slackware to Kubuntu. I was just tired of dealing with package dependencies. Maybe 6 or 8 years ago I switched my server from Slackware to Debian for similar reasons.

Right now my plan is to switch my desktop and laptop to Debian. I haven't yet because I want to reconfigure some disks on the server (need more space on /var and less on /home), then move a service that's currently running on my desktop to the server (Home Assistant), then install Debian on to my new nvme drive on the desktop and go from there. There's a whole upgrade path, basically. It has been a slow process because I have to do the space reconfiguration on the server itself - I can't log in remotely and do it - and the server is located in the basement, without a monitor or usable keyboard hooked to it... but there's also no deadline either, so no need to rush on it.

EndeavourOS.

I'm naturally a tinkerer and an avid gamer, with very recent hardware so an Arch based distro fits really nice.

It has just the right amount of pre-installed stuff. Not quite as bloaty as Manjaro or most ubuntu-based distros, but not quite as DIY as vanilla Arch. I know I can install and uninstall anything on Linux but when a distro already comes with just the right baseline for me, work smarter, not harder.

Ubuntu/Debian based distros didn't quite suit me, I love the AUR to death, I love the Arch wiki (even if a lot of it can be used just fine on other distros), I love rolling release and having the latest everything. I do use PopOS on my laptop since I use it a lot less and therefore I want to update it less often.

Only issue is when they ship dumb defaults sometimes that break my workflow but I can diagnose and undo them I guess.

I learned, and learned, and learned, and every step led me to simplify, simplify, simplify.

Now, I’m a Debian man. If I didn’t install it, it probably isn’t on there, just like I like it.

OpenSuse (back then the "normal" one, then Leap and now the rolling release Tumbleweed). It just works really well and keeps on trucking. Updated my old machine for ten years through all the openSuse releases without reinstalling. The repositories are very well kept in order and the build service easily provides anything I might find lacking.

Also, I quite like using Yast for system administration. There are many areas that I rarely touch and having a GUI available is super helpful.

TinyLinux (booting from DOS), Slackware, Debian for many years, Ubuntu, Debian, Ubuntu, Debian, Arch for 10+ years.

RH/CentOS/Amazon Linux for work these last 20 years.

I switched to Arch because ubuntu & debian started asking too many interactive questions when upgrading packages, instead of just upgrading. Arch gets out of my way, and has great documentation if something unexpected should break.

Debian, because it is boring, predictable, and I know how to tweak it to suit my use case

Thought I settled down with EndeavourOS.. then I got into ricing and the urge to move to void or alpine is strong

Fedora, it just works. I've considered going back to Arch for the AUR several times, but I just don't want to deal with it at this point

I've been using Ubuntu since 12.04 LTS, and old habits die hard. There have been many attempts by my peers to steer me toward Arch and NixOS, but Ubuntu suits my needs and I am used to it after a decade

Linux Mint: Debian Edition. Love mint's cinnamon DE, and the plus of being away from Canonical's shenanigans is great. It's been stable and my daily driver for months now.

Started with Gentoo. Early 2000's. 24 painful install. Moved to fedora shortly after. Keep going back between Arch and Ubuntu over the years. It's all so easy and accessible now.

Linux Mint, I wanted Manjaro with KDE to work so much. But the issue I had with it, and no not the in general complaints about Manjaro, was how annoying it is to set up again. Rebuilding a machine or an install was just such a hassle, that I wanted to move to a Ubuntu/Debain based distro, where everything was already made for it.

If my current build of Linux Mint dies, then I'd probably move to the Mint DE and remove the Ubuntu part.

Troubleshooting is easier, finding apps is easier, and outside of advance user packages like MangoHud and XPadNeo where I needed to build from source (not fun). It's been a painless experience.

Debian, settled down few years ago and my fallback would be Fedora.

Nice thing about Debian is, I can use it for servers, desktop and raspberry pi on am64, arm7 and aarch64. This is a real killer feature for me, because I'd rather do interesting things with my devices instead of learning n different ways to accomplish the same tasks. (e.g. using different distributions for server/desktop/pi and having to figure out 3 times the names of the same packages or where the configuration file in which version is expected.)

Debian. I've been using Linux since 1999, and I've tried everything under the sun. Back then, I was a Red Hat person, then an ubuntu person mostly, but Debian is where there's stability that doesn't mess with your mental health. It just works, and that has more value than being pretty or having the latest bells and whistles.

I think I'll settle down with Void + XFCE

Age. I'm old now.

I do it once in a while, to feel young, but not benefit all that much. (Having said that about my daily desktop, I do have multiple machines and VMs that run all sorts of distros)

Debian. It always works until it doesn’t and when it doesn’t there’s information at my level of understanding that allows me to correct it.

Started with Mint with Cinnamon on the desktop since that's the "beginner" distro. Then FOMO about Arch (btw) made me switch to Manjaro with KDE.

Then I got an older used server with 64 GB of RAM. I started the server journey with Ubuntu Server, which was fine. But since I was running everything in containers anyway and wanted to experiment, I switched to Proxmox and I love it. It is flexible and fun. All of my production LXCs run Ubuntu LTS for ease and consistency in updating, but I have a couple of other VMs for experimenting with other distros and dealing with FOMO. I also installed Proxmox on an old gaming PC I had lying around, so now I have a homelab cluster. Why? Haha, why not! Proxmox is a distro-hopper and tinkerer's playground.

Beginning: mint.
Later on: bunch of Debian and red hat based distros. After that: arch (4 years straight).
Now: debian kde.
Here's summary of my 8 year of Linux distrohopping. why? Because "I'm tired boss"

Beginning: Ubuntu.
Until today: Arch

Why? I found in Arch updated software that I was interested at that time, I liked the rolling distro, minimalism, AUR.

I'm happy with my TWM (DWM) and multiplexer (tmux).

I did install other distros in old hardware like Slitaz, Debían that needs 32 bit.

I'm interested right now in things like Alpine and Void, because small and functional in Termux or older hardware. And some distrobox (similar to proot-distro in Termux).

Now learning a little bit of Groff with markdown (pandoc) to create PDF, for a small and fast typesetting. I haven't found a way to convert markdown to pdf using MOM macros in Groff.

Ubuntu, Arch, Manjaro and now Guix as my hopefully permanent home. Guix is one configuration file, and zap! the system configures itself from that. There are oc a lot of other goodies..

Started with OpenSUSE because it supported our Proprietary CAD software ( Choice was Redhat or SUSE ) As a bonus nVidia hosts its own repo for SUSE and OpenSUSE so no graphic issues with CAD. Then Arch because of the buzz. Manjaro EndeavorOS Ubuntu PoP!_OS Clear Linux Mint ElementaryOS Fedora NixOS

Now main machines run OpenSUSE and wifes 12 yr old laptop is NixOS.

Why? OpenSUSE is really dependable and updates are flawless, if i tinker and break something a rollback at boot is a quick fix, which is imortant since it is my daily work work-station. While you could set up btrfs and grub snapshots in other systems, I like that it comes baked in, and all the EFI/ TPM / Secure-boot stuff works with no messing around.

As for wife's machine , she is not tech savvy and Windows was too complicated for her (and so damn slow), so GNOME on NixOS (fast) is a clear workflow; and since she likes things exactly the same in order to comprehend a system , the config files make it easy to re-replicate the exact setup.

Either Debian or Fedora + flatpak & KDE. I'm familiar with both and they just work for me. Distrohopping and messing around with my computer feels like a chore more than anything else these days.

Might be OT since I never was much of a distro hopper.

Got introduced to Linux with SLS, used RedHat until it became too commercial for my taste. At that time, found gentoo and stuck with it hard. It allows me to have completely custom packages fully integrated with the system package manager, that's the top killer feature for me.

EndeavourOS. I like the simplicity and minimalism of stock Arch, bloated distros bother me. I have been thinking of trying out Linux Mint again though, I used it for years and it was really good.