MyNameIsRichard

Oxazepam because you can't be anxious if you're unconscious.

The malicious packages were found and removed quite quickly. Also anyone who doesn't blindly install from the AUR would have seen a suspicious .lol url. I suppose that a genuine package using a .lol url isn't impossible, it's just very unlikely,

These attacks do demonstrate the strength and weakness of the AUR, that anyone can upload anything at any time. The same as flathub and the snap store. Treat all of them with appropriate caution.

I'm sorry, but the process is exactly the same. Pick one you've been recommended, pick one you like the look of, or pick one at random to try it. With pretty much every distro having a live environment, you don't need to install it to try it out. Hell, if you use distrosea, you don't even need to download it to try it. It's not rocket science, it's just that people are conditioned to think there shouldn't be choice in an operating system. I suppose it's fairer to say it's more like a car. See which ones you like the look of, try them out and make a decision.

So not really on a phone, using a phone as a CPU. You may as well get yourself a computer and work in a proper IDE. You'll be just as mobile and more productive!

OP is still a very new Linux user (if at all) that hammers on stability in every one of their posts.

Ah, I missed that nuance. In such a case, I always recommend one of the big three, Ubuntu, Mint, and Fedora. When they've been using that for long enough to know what they don't like about it, it's a good time to start exploring the wider ecosystem.

Even with Arch and Debian

Yeah, they've been around long enough that I'd be surprised if they vanished. I would add openSUSE and Slackware (even though it's a one man project) to that list. Of course Patrick Volkerding could get fed up with maintaining Slackware at any time.

And (often) comes with tons of support/discussion across the internet that will prove to be useful for the new user.

That can be a double-edged sword, especially if the distro has been around a long time. What the user finds can be out of date and now just plain wrong. Ubuntu definitely suffers with this.

Please feel free to provide other metrics that OP or others might appeal to.

Besides longevity and adoption, I would argue that whether it has new enough drivers and firmware to support your hardware is the most important metric out there. For example, if your hardware is newer, you should likely choose Fedora from the big three.

Developing on a phone sounds like one of the most unpleasant experiences I can imagine. And I include dinner with my ex.

All of which is just to say that it’s (almost) ill-advised to prefer a new project over a well-established one. Only after a (relatively) new project receives mass adoption, like what we currently see with Bazzite and CachyOS, does it become somewhat of a safe bet.

If you should prefer an established distro over a new one, how is the new one ever going to get mass adoption? And let's be honest, if a distro is a one man or small team project, mass adoption is no guarantee of longevity.

Pretty much any ide will spot that. Maybe you can use it to teach your colleagues not to use a plain text editor.

Yeah. but you're going to pick one like you've been recommended, try it and see if you like it. If not, you won't get it again and you'll try something else. There might be a moment of indecisiveness but it's not hard. If that overwhelms you, how do function in modern society?

Help people install Linux.

@OP, I'd be prepared for very few people to show up. I've only taken part in one install party and we had five people turn up the whole evening, and two of them decided not to go for it.

How the Hell do people who think like this function in the supermarket where they have to make choices between many different breads for example?

I assume that under normal circumstances. you are intelligent enough to handle making a choice and have just been brainwashed by Microsoft and Apple into thinking that choice in an operating system is a bad thing.

Sorry if that comes off as aggressive, but the learnt helplessness of it makes me very angry.

Edit: add missing word

Giles Brandreth