ulu_mulu

I use the XFCE version, it's around 400 MB idle, fluxbox should be even less I think.

I work for a big enterprise, we have RHEL on all our Linux servers save for a few that are SuSe for SAP.

The concept of having to compile something yourself is basically foreign to me

There's no need to, what software do you need that you can't find on Mint repositories?

having to basically rely on a built-in app database/store to easily install apps… Kinda stinks to me, and not being able to simply download an installer from a website and having the program, whatever program, up and running reliably within a minute, the concept seems ridiculous

Having an app repository is way more secure than downloading software from random websites, it's also way faster.

But it's fine if you don't like it, each person has its own preferences.

If you never played WoW before, I suggest you play the official one before dabbling with emulators/private servers, it's a much better experience if you know nothing about the game.

WoW client is not native on Linux but it runs flawlessly regardless, always have, it's also very easy to install with Lutris: https://lutris.net/games/world-of-warcraft/, use the battle.net script and follow instructions to install dependencies first.

Opensource yes, original impossible.

WoW server emulators have been in development for over a decade, they're public projects on GitHub and released under opensource licenses, all private servers use those emulators, none of them has original code, it's never been stolen.

You can compile them for Linux (as well as Windows), how well they work depends on the version, up to WoTLK they're fine, from Cata on they're quite bad.

You will need the original clients that are Windows only but they work flawlessly with WINE.

Most popular projects:

• TrinityCore
• AzerothCore
• CMangos

I don't because no antivirus can protect you from yourself, I learned that the hard way while I was still using Windows many years ago.

I had antivirus and antimalware on Windows and I kept them updated and ran scans regularly, almost religiously, than I got a malware that antivirus couldn't detect (they take a while to be updated with new viruses/malware that constantly come out) and the only way to remove it was a blank new install following a specific procedure to clean it all.

That day I understood that no matter how attentive you are about your antivirus, you're never really protected until it's you who learns what to do and what not while accessing the web, so I did a bit of research about how to better configure my PC, how to better recognize phishing/scamming, using adblocker, don't download random software, stuff like that.

I basically learned "how to behave". I stopped using antivirus/antimalware on Windows and I didn't catch a virus since, then I switched to Linux and I still apply the same principles of "good behavior".

That's not to say I'm immune to viruses, I'm certainly not, but my mindset now is that if I ever catch a virus, it will be my fault for doing something I shouldn't have done, and I'll do my best to learn from it instead of relying on software to do that for me.

There are distros that need little to no intelligence to set up and maintain

It's not a matter of intelligence but prior knowledge, Arch wiki is the best thing ever for everyone, even if you don't use Arch, BUT you need some Linux knowledge - at least Linux "lingo" - to be able to understand it.

That's something a Linux newbie doesn't have yet, exactly the reason why Arch is not recommended for newbies.

Being lightweight or not doesn't depend on the distro but the desktop manager (the graphic interface). Unlike Windows, the graphic in Linux is separated from the system so you can use different desktop managers on the same distros.

The lightest DE is LXQT but it's pretty barebone, XFCE has more features while still being very light, avoid GNOME and KDE.

That being said, I suggest you try Linux MX XFCE or Mint XFCE first, if that's not light enough for your liking, try Lubuntu, that's Ubuntu with LXQT as default DE.

That's if you use opensource drivers, good for AMD but not so much for NVIDIA.

There's not a "best" distro for gaming, it very much depends on what games you play.

If you want to play latest releases, a rolling release is most probably the best option for you, I hear Suse Tumbleweed is very good if you don't like Arch.

If you want less "aggressive" updates but not exactly a stable, you can try Solus, it's a sort of middle-ground between the 2.

If your games are not the latest ones, a Debian-based distro is a very good option, rock-solid, updated enough and without any "extra fluff".

I personally use Linux MX XFCE and I'm very happy about it.

I fully agree with you, karma "whoring" is a serious problem on reddit, awards could lead to the same behavior here if implemented.

Donations are the best way to support the platform, if you want to be "visible" as donator, opencollective allows you to post a message about it, there's also a sort of top donators page, that's more than enough in my opinion.

They're not telling (rightfully so) and hopefully won't until all instances are fixed.