It just reliably works for me and family that are not Linux people. Sure, other distros have specialized uses, but many are just lots of meaningless work.
I am a tech lead and have >10y experience, so I can handle Linux perfectly fine. Does not prove my opinion right though. I just think most distros is a waste of time to use and configure. My OS is not something I want to fix or actively maintain, like ever. I just want to do stuff and play games. Mint lets me do that, without having to fix stuff.
I have tried lots of distros and every single one is more work, except maybe Ubuntu. Most users don’t want to maintain their OS, most Linux users at the moment? Maybe.
Yes, always being at the forefront of all software through Arch or another rolling distro is cool, it also means that you might be using less reliable software. Fedora is great in many respects, it is just less flexible. Yes, ostree is cool.
Its just that those things is for those who WANT to tinker with their OS. In the future more of the great stuff will be implemented in Linux Mint, but til then, why bother? (Unless you find joy in it)
We should stop recommending other distros to regular people.
TL;DR People just want an OS that works, not another project. Lets stop recommending all kinds of distros, just go for Mint.
Also, I am trying to create a discussion here, not 100% my opinion.
I think if the goal is to get “most people” to switch to Linux from a modern, commercial OS, then suggesting they use an OS that looks like it’s from 2001 is not going to give them a great feeling about the switch. “Most people” aka normies do make decisions on aesthetics alone.
That’s important for the initial steps, but none of that really matters if normies can’t get normal everyday stuff done. Those kinds of problems are usually related to people not being familiar with a different UI or the way things work. Often, the problems are also caused by software compatibility or availability. Even if the distro looks gorgeous, but using it causes headaches, normies will switch back.
All of these issues act as barriers that prevent most people from sticking with Linux. Those who hate big tech with a burning passion are willing to tolerate such inconveniences, but must people aren’t.