Distrowatch

tknomanzr · 2015-10-04 20:37:37

I think a writeup in your blog, etc will do far more than just a mere listing anyway. Word of mouth is powerful stuff. Most folks on my social media profiles know I use Linux and know I use some variant of debian most of the time. I have been contemplating posting an announcement and let the Linux users I am linked too on those profiles know that BunsenLabs have a release candidate out.

DB_Cooper · 2015-10-04 20:59:50

Maybe I'm being stupid, but why does it matter how many people use BL. I use it and you use it. Why does it matter if anyone else uses it. It's not going to make any better is it?

damo · 2015-10-04 21:08:21

DB_Cooper wrote:

Maybe I'm being stupid, but why does it matter how many people use BL. I use it and you use it. Why does it matter if anyone else uses it. It's not going to make any better is it?

+1

Apart from....it might make it better because of more feedback.

On second thoughts, I would probably get fed up of saying "If you want [insert name of must-have application] then apt-get it!" ]:D

MsMattie · 2015-10-04 22:07:04

I'll play devil's advocate. When I was first getting interested in replacing my XP machines with Linux, I went on DistroWatch and then mostly by popularity I downloaded .iso files for the top distros and then put a bunch of them on a USB stick using YUMI. I was totally new and green. But all the most popular distros were there. I could easily test some. With links to reviews. I would not likely have even tried Crunchbang if it had not been in Distrowatch.

A listing there also adds some credibility in the eyes of someone looking around. Since then I have seen several other small distros that looked interesting, but were not in Distrowatch and I didn't try them. My reasoning was that they were so small they might not be around for long. Or, even worse, that they were kind of "out there" on their own and I wasn't absolutely totally sure I could trust that they weren't malicious. And it's easier and occasionally wiser to just be safe on something of that importance.

Sector11 · 2015-10-04 22:27:58

MsMattie wrote:

I'll play devil's advocate.

And well done with that too.

I like what DB_Cooper said up there a few posts.

I have one question: Are we in a competition?

tknomanzr · 2015-10-04 22:33:28

Not really and I have no doubt BL will appeal to a certain user base. There are a lot of Linux users out there who are still fairly dependent on a DE and gui tools to handle everything. Maybe they will migrate one day and maybe they won't. I doubt a DW listing will make their decision any easier. Most people end up migrating to a #! like setup because they are ready to learn more and end up needing a more accessible environment to do that in. There are numerous potential successors that are one man shows. Being the community driven continuation should lend BL some weight and credibility. Plus, as I have said before, no distro will last long without a robust community. I have been fairly encouraged by the influx of both old and new faces this past week or so.

Head_on_a_Stick · 2015-10-04 22:44:10

Sector11 wrote:

Are we in a competition?

Only with our own expectations and standards.

johnraff · 2015-10-05 04:37:04

^Well said HoaS!

tknomanzr wrote:

I have been fairly encouraged by the influx of both old and new faces this past week or so.

Me too.

pvsage · 2015-10-05 06:30:33

tknomanzr wrote:

I have been fairly encouraged by the influx of both old and new faces this past week or so.

Same here, and the new faces are finding us without the DW ranking.

I get the impression that DW is on the decline in terms of how users find a new distro, with (and I cringe as I type this) "social media" playing a much stronger role. I suppose I welcome our new social media overlords.

ohnonot · 2015-10-05 08:09:49

conflicting opinions are ok.

here are mine:

distrowatch is important. i can't count how many times i have told ultra-noobs to go there and check it out for themselves, instead of pestering us.
more and more often i hear people saying that DW isn't all that good, and being on there or not doesn't mean a thing.
i have tried many distros, but never have i actually found one through distrowatch. also crunchbang wasn't my first linux distro. i wouldn't have been able to appreciate it then.

that said, constructive ways to deal with this:

pay the 220 (collect money. i say it again, if there's an actual bank account to pay to, i'm game).
ask corenominal to call in a favor from DW and somehow change the current #! listing (as proposed on the previous page of this thread. unlikely, but worth a try, imo)
edit the wikipedia article on lightweight distros to include bl
write about busenlabs on all your online channels, forums, blogs (mental note to self)

ps:
i totally agree with previous posters that bunsenlabs is doing perfectly ok without the added publicity, but it would be good to get it nevertheless.

Last edited by ohnonot (2015-10-05 08:11:42)

configX · 2015-10-05 11:55:23

Like others, I feel like DW used to be relevant but not so much anymore. Sure, it's a nice resource to see what's new but most distros don't really bring anything new to the table. Also, why does BL need to be popular? If anything, I see a mass influx of users to be detrimental since devs will need to spend more time dealing with support/bugs than development. That's not to say that BL should never be in the spotlight, but it comes with its headaches too. In my personal opinion, a slow trickle of new users is better.

hhh · 2015-10-05 14:58:44

ohnonot wrote:

[*]edit the wikipedia article on lightweight distros to include bl[/*]

This is easily done and we already have a Wikipedia page (that we didn't set up and it needs secondary sources) and are also mentioned on #!'s Wikipedia page, (also not our doing)...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BunsenLabs
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CrunchBang_Linux

dolly · 2015-10-06 14:21:08

#! lived and prospered on it's own merits as I have understood it, and so should bunsenlabs. There is no need for DW or promotion of any kind. If it's good enough it will survive and rock our (insert preferred body part(s) here)!

boot · 2015-10-06 15:10:49

How about https://www.osdisc.com/ maybe not for promotion but it could perhaps generate some revenue.

pvsage · 2015-10-08 05:34:23

hhh wrote:

ohnonot wrote:
[*]edit the wikipedia article on lightweight distros to include bl[/*]
This is easily done and we already have a Wikipedia page (that we didn't set up and it needs secondary sources) and are also mentioned on #!'s Wikipedia page, (also not our doing)...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BunsenLabs
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CrunchBang_Linux

Would this link do as a secondary source, or does it still count as primary since the original author is one of our moderators?
http://www.linuxtoday.com/infrastructur … 12016.html

hhh · 2015-10-08 06:35:12

I believe that qualifies, see the requirements at Wikipedia.

Pouletic · 2015-10-25 10:14:01

I didn't realize distrowatch had that practice... I'll probably not go there again.

I added BunsenLabs to the lightweight linux distros table on Wikipedia and also a note that it is the successor to CrunchBang on the same page. The main article for BunsenLabs could use some work (and 2nd/3rd party refs) but i'm not really involved enough to tackle that.

ohnonot · 2015-10-25 20:10:23

^ no, neither did i before this thread.
it's an eye-opener, really.

thanks a bunch for fixing the wikipedia article!

shadowplay · 2015-10-25 21:16:54

The general feeling in the thread seems to be gravitating towards avoiding DW as a future strategy.

Let me give a contrarian perspective...this may open me up to a lot of ridicule, but here goes :-)

I think getting onto DW is a very worthwhile exercise:
* the BL community will grow (more registered users, more opinions, more diverse technical knowledge, more ideas, better support for questions/queries, more diversity, a more active and engaging forum)
* IMO, what made #! great was its vibrant, well-mannered and active community (although the actual product was fantastic as well!)....is this a chicken-and-egg situation? Can one exist without the other?
* regardless of how DW operates in terms of the need to "buy" a listing, it has a monopoly as the go-to place for researching, understanding and discovering distros.

DW gives a certain level of credibility to a distro. When I look at the Top 100 distros, what do I think about a distro in lower realms of the list (or indeed, not on the list)? Some guy's personal hobby distro? Why would I bother installing it? It has zero support...zero community...zero likelihood of being around in 6 months.

A great product needs marketing...unfortunately, DW is how you market new distros.

ohnonot · 2015-10-25 21:48:28

i don't really have an opinion either way, but:

shadowplay wrote:

When I look at the Top 100 distros, what do I think about a distro in lower realms of the list (or indeed, not on the list)? Some guy's personal hobby distro? Why would I bother installing it? It has zero support...zero community...zero likelihood of being around in 6 months.

i do not install a distro just because it is rated high on distrowatch.
admittedly, i have used it as a sort of database, but the decision making process only starts there.
other relevant points:
- the distros web page
- a lively community/forum
- knowing that it's been around for a while and mentioned (positively) by other people around the web
- some technical factors, like it's not based on a distro that is based on a distro (linux mint seems to be a positive exception to that rule)

and, like i said, the fact that you can buy your way to the top has been an eye-opener for me.
i will have to find other databases to start distro searches. maybe even the internet itself.

#41 2015-10-04 20:37:37

Re: Distrowatch

#42 2015-10-04 20:59:50

Re: Distrowatch

#43 2015-10-04 21:08:21

Re: Distrowatch

#44 2015-10-04 22:07:04

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#45 2015-10-04 22:27:58

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#46 2015-10-04 22:33:28

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#47 2015-10-04 22:44:10

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#48 2015-10-05 04:37:04

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#49 2015-10-05 06:30:33

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#50 2015-10-05 08:09:49

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#51 2015-10-05 11:55:23

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#52 2015-10-05 14:58:44

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#53 2015-10-06 14:21:08

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#54 2015-10-06 15:10:49

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#55 2015-10-08 05:34:23

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#56 2015-10-08 06:35:12

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#57 2015-10-25 10:14:01

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#58 2015-10-25 20:10:23

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#59 2015-10-25 21:16:54

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#60 2015-10-25 21:48:28

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