XPost: alt.comp.os.windows-11, comp.os.linux.advocacy, comp.sys.mac.advocacy   
   From: brock.mcnuggets@gmail.com   
      
   On Nov 20, 2025 at 10:40:08 PM MST, "Paul" wrote   
   <10fotvp$3f118$1@dont-email.me>:   
      
   > On Thu, 11/20/2025 11:07 PM, Brock McNuggets wrote:   
   >> On Nov 20, 2025 at 6:11:59 PM MST, "Lawrence D´Oliveiro" wrote   
   >> <10foe8u$3bld1$2@dont-email.me>:   
   >>   
   >>> On 21 Nov 2025 00:42:30 GMT, Brock McNuggets wrote:   
   >>>   
   >>>> On Nov 20, 2025 at 4:12:21 PM MST, "Lawrence D´Oliveiro" wrote   
   >>>> <10fo78l$39kk9$6@dont-email.me>:   
   >>>>   
   >>>>> On 20 Nov 2025 20:35:43 GMT, Brock McNuggets wrote:   
   >>>>>   
   >>>>>> And people aren’t complaining because choice is “unsustainable.”   
   >>>>>> They’re complaining because too much choice means too much   
   >>>>>> friction for folks who just want to drive without memorizing 40   
   >>>>>> different ways to pop the hood.   
   >>>>>   
   >>>>> Because of course they go to the Microsoft and Apple car lot, and   
   >>>>> just pick from the limited options on display, and that’s good   
   >>>>> enough for them, right?   
   >>>>   
   >>>> Have you heard of the Paradox of Choice?   
   >>>   
   >>> Have you been to a car lot lately?   
   >>>   
   >>> There is a reason why we keep bringing up car analogies in this   
   >>> discussion: do you really think that having so many makes and models   
   >>> available puts people off from buying cars?   
   >>>   
   >>> How do you square that with your “Paradox of Choice”?   
   >>   
   >> You can poke a hole in that analogy pretty easily. A car lot isn’t the   
   same   
   >> problem space at all.   
   >>   
   >> When you walk onto a lot, you’ve already filtered down the choices before   
   you   
   >> even get there. You know your budget, roughly what size of car you want,   
   maybe   
   >> a couple brands you trust. You’re not staring at 500 nearly identical   
   sedans   
   >> and trying to compare every bolt and gasket. The options are wide, but   
   they’re   
   >> structured.   
   >>   
   >> Software ecosystems – especially something like Linux distros – don’t   
   work   
   >> that way. The choices are sprawling, uncurated, and often differ in ways   
   that   
   >> aren’t obvious until you’ve already committed. That’s exactly where   
   the   
   >> paradox of choice kicks in: lots of options, not much guidance, and no clear   
   >> way for a non-expert to know which path won’t bite them later.   
   >>   
   >> So yeah, lots of car models exist, but the whole experience is built around   
   >> helping you narrow down and feel confident. Most tech ecosystems aren’t   
   that   
   >> tidy.   
   >   
   > Hardly uncurated.   
   >   
   > It's chained-curation, and a knowledgeable person can tell you   
   > how many tree-herders have been at the thing.   
   >   
   >   
   > https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1b/Linux_Dist   
   ibution_Timeline.svg   
   >   
   > In general tree-form, you can see "upstream" is more towards the master   
   distro,   
   > and above that, is the developer providing active support. The active support   
   > does not even need to be the original developer. Above Debian for example, is   
   > kernel.org , providing generic kernels for usage (or for custom building from   
   > source).   
   >   
   > As an example, Linux Mint Zara   
   >   
   >     Debian ---- Ubuntu --- LinuxMint   # Both Debian and Ubuntu, build and   
   > test   
   >                                         # Linux Mint "mostly consumes" except   
   > for custom   
   >                                         # python packages for convenience   
   > functions.   
   >   
   > Or for Linux Mint LMDE 6   
   >   
   >      Debian --------------- LinuxMint    # Packages are from Debian   
   >                                         # This covers the case where   
   Canonical   
   > is no longer helpful.   
   >   
   > The problem with Ubuntu, is their switching to SNAPs, which LinuxMint   
   > does not want to use. While the upstream curation is useful,   
   > it is less useful when it does not align with the design   
   > of your distro (debs, synaptic/apt for package management).   
   >   
   > For example, LinuxMint might get their Firefox as a .deb, straight   
   > from Mozilla. The Firefox on Ubuntu is SNAP packaged. And Ubuntu   
   > custom-compiles Firefox for fitment into a SNAP. Other SNAPs in   
   > the snap tree, are submitted by developers.   
   >   
   > Zorin also feeds from Ubuntu, and then it has to make the   
   > same sorts of choices. To go whole-hog on SNAPs, or, to not use them.   
   >   
   >    Paul   
      
   I get what you're trying to say with the "chained curation," but that doesn't   
   really address the point I made.   
      
   Sure, there's an upstream structure. Debian feeds Ubuntu, Ubuntu feeds Mint,   
   etc. That's packaging lineage, not user-facing curation. The existence of a   
   family tree doesn't help an average user figure out which distro they should   
   pick, what tradeoffs they're signing up for, or whether the maintainers of a   
   given project are making choices that will affect them a year down the road.   
      
   Most of the differences aren't obvious from the outside. You have things like:   
      
   - Ubuntu leaning hard on SNAPs   
   - Mint avoiding them   
   - upstreams with conflicting philosophies   
   - different release cadences, different patching approaches, different tooling   
   stacks   
      
   None of that is clear until you're already using the system, and it's not   
   explained in any unified, beginner-friendly way. That's the "paradox of   
   choice" part: plenty of options, very little guidance unless you already know   
   the ecosystem well.   
      
   So yeah, the distro family tree is there, but it doesn't fix the actual   
   user-experience problem. A car lot still gives you a salesperson, brochures,   
   trim levels, test drives, and a guided funnel toward a decision. Linux distros   
   mostly give you a giant chart and tell you good luck.   
      
   That's the gap I was pointing to.   
      
   To be clear, this does not mean I am against Linux. I have used it myself,   
   have set up labs in schools, have set it up for users, and helped them set it   
   up. I mostly used Mint. No list of distros for them. No options. Just   
   installed Mint or gave them media with it for them to do so. Before that I was   
   doing the same with Ubuntu. I "curated" the choices for them.   
      
      
   --   
   It's impossible for someone who is at war with themselves to be at peace with   
   you.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)