Linux is great. Almost all servers run Linux. Almost all supercomputers run Linux. Android phones run Linux. The Steam Deck runs Linux. I love Linux. Since I’m 11, I’ve cycled through a lot of distros. I’ve tried Fedora, Manjaro, Arch (btw!), Pop!_OS, ZorinOS and a lot more. Some of them are “highly recommended”, and some of them might get me downvoted into hell if I post it on Reddit. I use Linux for almost everything: coding, gaming, writing, browsing, and media consumption.
Linux is powerful, customizable, and free. You can tweak it however you want. There is a ton of distributions, window managers, desktop environments, and software to choose from. You can make your computer look and behave exactly how you want it to.
Note that by no means am I an expert in the Linux community. I’m just an end-user who enjoys actually owning my computer and being able to easily tinker with it. I’ve made dumb mistakes, broken my system multiple times, and learned a lot along the way. I’m still learning, and I don’t claim to know everything about Linux or any other software.
But here’s one thing that I dislike about the Linux community: the elitism. The “I’m better because of my software choice” attitude. Just because you use Linux doesn’t mean you’re a better programmer, hacker, or person. The same goes for any other software choices. Using Chrome does not make you ‘worse’ than a Firefox user, using GNOME does not make you ‘lesser’ than a KDE user, and using Windows does not make you ‘inferior’ to a Linux user.
Software is just a tool. A tool you use to get things done. Linux is literally about freedom. Freedom to choose your software, freedom to modify it, and freedom to use it however you want. It shouldn’t be about judging others based on their software choices. I don’t care if you use Microsoft Edge, VSCode, Manjaro, or anything else. As long as you’re happy and productive, that’s all that matters. Who am I to judge you for your software choices, anyway?
What I do appreciate is when people share their experiences. I love reading about how others use Linux. I appreciate people sharing what works for them, what doesn’t, and why. It is not helpful when people just say “You should use Linux because Windows is shit” without any context or explanation. It also does not make sense when people just hate Google/Microsoft/Apple products without any valid reason, which happens to newcomers quite a lot. If you have a reason, share it. If you don’t, just let people use whatever they want.
Obviously, there are some valid criticisms and opinions against certain software. For example, I personally think big companies should stop forcing AI slop into everything, and I should be able to sideload whatever I want onto my device (which Google is planning to take away in 2026). But some Linux users just bash (pun not intended) Windows for the sake of bashing it. It’s pointless and creates unnecessary division. Again, Linux is about freedom, including the freedom to not use Linux.
Most people don’t even care about what OS or software they use anyway. I’m pretty sure that if I install Arch Linux on my brother’s computer and rice it to look exactly like Windows, he wouldn’t even notice. He just wants to use Google Chrome to watch some Youtube videos and play some Minecraft with Prism Launcher. He doesn’t care about the underlying OS or software. And that’s perfectly fine.
Ultimately, the power of Linux is in its freedom: the freedom to choose. When we gatekeep that choice, we aren’t celebrating the freedom, we’re just creating a new cage. Software is a tool, and the best tool is the one that gets your job done, however you define it.