 Distro-hopping has gotten a bad name over the last few years and it seems like the more Gray beard people in the community tend to poo poo distro-hopping because it's for noobs and This is really a bad way of looking at it because distro-hopping can actually be really good for you And while it's not always the case I I think that distro-hopping is actually something that everybody Should do and I think everybody does do when they're new But I'm talking about even those of us who have been using Linux for a long time Should distro-hop from time to time and I'm going to talk about five reasons why today The first reason why is very much a new reason But it also applies to people who've used links for a long time Distro-hopping allows you to find your happy place and by that I mean it allows you to find the distribution that you're most comfortable on how are you supposed to know which Distribution you're supposed to be on the one that you'll enjoy the most if you haven't tried them all it'd be like going to the Furniture store and buying the first bed that you find or the first chair that you find there and not trying several of Them out because you may be missing out on the one that's actually even more comfortable than the first one you tried Or buying a car and buying the first one you see on the lot It's not necessarily the best one. You have to try a few of them. That's why you test drive things The second reason why you should distro-hop is it allows you to learn new things distros do things differently They come with different software. They install themselves differently. They use different file systems and so on and so forth not all of them are the same and We know that because they exist If every distro was exactly the same there'd be no reason for so many of them to be around Trying new distros allow you to learn those new things and to try them out And even if you don't like the distro that you try you will learn to those things and be able to take them with you and Use them whenever you settle down on the distro that is actually meant for you The third reason why you should distro-hop is that it allows you to argue with other Linux users now I like this one How are you supposed to know How to appropriately argue with somebody who comes along and says to you That their distro is better unless you've actually tried the distro that they're talking about because you would have no Points to argue you'd you can't tell me that that are you are is bad if you've never used they you are I Couldn't I can't tell you that PPAs are bad if I've never used the PPA system It's just the way it is if you want to be able to argue with people about why your distribution is better You also have to use other distros because you have to have something to compare them with you otherwise, you're just a neck beard you're somebody who's a you're a fanboy and It's okay being a fanboy, but if you don't have any evidence to back up your enthusiasm It's not a great thing. It's like saying your country is the best country in the world without ever having ever visited another country The fourth one is probably the most important on the list and that is Distro hopping gives you exposure to other Linux communities now Despite the Linux community being a gigantic melting pot of everybody around the world We have become very segregated. We got Arch users and we got Ubuntu users got Debbie and users We got open Suza enthusiasts. You know, we got fedora users and so on so forth. We don't really mix very well I mean technically we're all Linux users, but We've formed separate communities within the community and that has allowed rivalries to spring up and Means to show up. I mean everybody makes some of Arch users everybody makes one of Gen 2 users and These rivalries can sometimes lead to divisions within the broader community by distro hopping and trying out each of these Distros and becoming a part of the community of those distros You have an opportunity To not only be able to compare the communities and also it will help you Understand the community that you end up being a part of better because you'll be able to say well You want to at least I'm not the arch guys who are so stuck up or I'm not the gent two guys that are so stuck up My community is way better. It also allows you to interact with more people You know one of the greatest things about the Linux community as a whole is that there's a ton of people here that you would normally not interact with and By distro hopping you would at you actually meet more people for example I've hopped to Arco Linux, you know a couple years ago Whatever for the first time and I've met a lot of people in that community. That's the community that I've settled in But I've also been in the a boom to community and met a lot of people there I've been in the fedora community for a little while and met people there and it's the same thing with like window managers and desktop environments you hop between those as well and You meet people and developers and stuff like that for those that you use and Those things can lead to lasting friendships. They can lead to contacts and Technical support when you need it or whatever and it's just It's an enriching experience that you won't get if you just find one distro and stick with it forever and ever and ever The last reason why you should distro hop is a simple one. It's fun. Now. This one might just be me I am kind of crazy about distro hopping but For me, I really do enjoy trying out something new Now sometimes the cause of me distro hopping isn't fun So sometimes they get frustrated with a problem or something and I spend a while trying to fix it And I just can't so I end up distro hopping that can be frustrating that's basically been my experience over the last couple weeks because I've been having some Linux problems, but When I just choose to distro hop, it's because I'm looking forward to the entertainment of installing a new distro Making sure that it all works nice and good and installing all my stuff on it Reorganizing a lot of my stuff. It's it's kind of like I mean, I'd say it's kind of like spring cleaning But nobody likes spring cleaning. It's more like It's like maybe painting your room or something like it's like maybe it's not the process so much But at the end of it you have something new at the end and it's really kind of neat So those are the five reasons why I think you should distro hop They aren't all inclusive There may be other reasons why you think you should just hop and if there are make sure you leave those in the comments below Maybe you think that you shouldn't distro hop and you should just find one distro and stick with it forever and ever and ever You can also leave a comment below You can follow me on Twitter at the Linux cast you can support me on patreon at patreon.com Slash Linux cast before I go I'd like to take a moment to thank my current patrons Devon Marcus Meglin Donnie Sven east coast web merit camp Mitchell and Chris. Thanks everybody for watching. I'll see you next time