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ZDNET's cardinal takeaways
- If you request thief pinch Linux, effort these outlets.
- You mightiness not get an reply immediately, but 1 will come.
- These are each free to subordinate and bask (just watch retired for trolls).
Linux is astir community, and it has been for a very agelong time.
Without community, I'm not judge if Linux would beryllium wherever it is today. When I first started utilizing Linux successful nan precocious 90s, I turned to old-school solutions (such arsenic bulletin boards) and recovered each nan thief I needed.
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Seriously, without those communities, I wouldn't beryllium present penning this truthful you could find nan thief you need. On nan occasional lawsuit erstwhile I request to find a solution to a problem, I mostly move to 1 of 3 things: Forums, societal media groups, and mailing lists.
The only logic I spot mailing lists past is that nan answers aren't ever arsenic contiguous arsenic I need. The bully point astir mailing lists, however, is that you don't person to wade done each nan spam aliases excavation done different sub-forums to find what you're looking for.
Forums
As I said earlier, forums are my go-to. Why? One of nan biggest reasons is that you tin almost ever find a forum for your circumstantial distribution, desktop environment, aliases moreover wide forums. Forums are a awesome spot not only to find help, but besides to make connections pinch different users, developers, and distribution aliases situation maintainers.
Keep successful mind that each forum has its ain rules, but mostly speaking, beryllium courteous, polite, and enactment connected topic. If you're utilizing a circumstantial distribution and you tally into problems, find that distribution's dedicated forum and join. If you person wide Linux questions, location are forums for that arsenic well.
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Here are immoderate of my favourite Linux forums that are judge to springiness you nan thief you need.
- Linux Forums: This is simply a postulation of Linux forums that screen conscionable astir immoderate taxable you tin imagine.
- Stack Exchange: Another wide Linux forum. This 1 isn't surgery into categories, truthful it's a spot much challenging to find questions to thief pinch immoderate problem you need. However, there's a batch to beryllium learned here.
- Just Linux: Another wide Linux forum. This 1 is surgery into categories and is very easy to navigate.
- Linux Mint Community: This is nan forum dedicated to Linux Mint.
- Arch Community: The charismatic Arch forum.
- Ask Ubuntu: This is 1 of nan first forums I thin to visit, particularly fixed really galore distributions are based connected Ubuntu.
- Fedora Forum: If you request thief pinch Fedora, this is simply a awesome spot to start.
- KDE Discuss: If KDE Plasma is your desktop situation of choice, sojourn this forum.
- GNOME Discourse: If GNOME is your desktop situation of choice, commencement here.
Social media groups
Social media isn't going anywhere, truthful we whitethorn arsenic good clasp it.
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I'm not going to database sites for illustration Bluesky (or that other, akin one) because location aren't really groups, only hashtags. That being said, location are plentifulness of societal media groups dedicated to Linux topics, and present are immoderate of my favorites.
- Reddit r/linux: A wide group that is ever helpful. Just beryllium observant of nan trolls.
- Mastodon - Gaming On Linux: If you're into gaming, this is nan societal media group to join.
- Mastodon - GNOME: A very useful group for GNOME.
- Facebook - Linux: My favourite wide Linux group connected Facebook.
- Facebook - Ubuntu: If Ubuntu is your distro, subordinate this group.
- Facebook - Fedora Linux: Fedora? Yes. Join this.
- Facebook - Linux Mint: Since Linux Mint doesn't person mailing lists, effort this.
- Facebook - KDE: This KDE Facebook group is simply a awesome spot to commencement for Plasma.
- Facebook - Linux Fans Group: This is simply a wide group, truthful subordinate if you person wide Linux questions.
- Facebook - Red Hat: This group is much aligned pinch business usage.
- Facebook - Pop!_OS: This is simply a very progressive group dedicated to nan System76 operating system.
Mailing lists
At 1 point, I was a personnel of astir each distribution mailing database connected nan planet. Eventually, I had to trim backmost to only those mailing lists that pertained to nan distribution I was utilizing (or nan distribution that my distribution was based on). Not each distribution has a mailing database (such arsenic Linux Mint and GNOME), but those that do are still reasonably active.
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If you don't mind waiting to get nan answers to your questions, mailing lists are a awesome option. Just retrieve not to "bottom post."
- Arch Linux Mailing Lists: If you usage Arch aliases immoderate distribution based connected Arch, effort this.
- Ubuntu Mailing Lists: I've been connected this database for years.
- Kernel Newbies: Aspiring Linux kernel developers.
- Debian Mailing Lists: Since Debian is nan "mother of each distros," this tin beryllium a hotbed of questions and answers.
- Gentoo Linux Mailing Lists: You astir apt don't usage Gentoo, but if you do, subordinate this database because location will beryllium different highly passionate people.
- Rocky Linux Mailing Lists: If you usage Rocky Linux arsenic your server OS, subordinate this list.
- KDE Mailing Lists: The KDE mailing database is 1 of nan champion places to get thief for KDE Plasma (if you don't mind nan wait).