| I agree with most of what you said. But it wasn't just that. In the mid-2000s, I ordered Ubuntu CDs, my first contact with Linux. The university campus had fast internet, and I could download and try other distros. Mandriva was by far the easiest to set up and use. It had everything included but was also the biggest in size (it required a DVD or 4x CDs if I remember correctly). I ended up sticking to Ubuntu mainly because the support was better. You could find tutorials for everything you wanted targeting Ubuntu users. Whenever I had issues, I always found answers on forums. Being a total noob in the Ubuntu community was not frowned upon like in the other distros. Ubuntu also had more up-to-date packages, and updates were coming faster. The UI was nicer in Ubuntu, and everything looked more consistent. Any other distro in that era looked more or less like Windows 98 / 2000. In Ubuntu, Compiz [1] was easy to set up. Compiz blew my mind when I discovered it. I don't use Linux as my daily driver anymore. I prefer to run Debian on my servers, and I'll like to switch to Arch on my laptop soon. I still consider Ubuntu a distro suitable for someone who starts with Linux. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compiz |
I think this was the consequence of the network effect brought by the initial push. The webforums weren't full from the first day.