Ubuntu seems increasingly polarizing in the Linux community. Why?
Generally speaking, I get the sense that the Linux community is either pro-Ubuntu OR feels that it is a somewhat "evil" distro, continuously acting against the larger Linux community at every turn. There doesn't seem to be much middle ground. At least, I don't see it too often in the comments.
About two years ago I ditched Windows (7) completely. I had played with various Ubuntu releases over the years but could never make the switch permanently. At the moment I'm using Mint w/Cinnamon (go ahead and laugh, it just works great for me on my primary machine right now). Though I frequently play around with Debian, Fedora, CentOS and other distros in VM's. I'll never go back to M$.
My question is this: Would Linux on the desktop be where it is today without Ubuntu? Debian is great, no argument there. I really do appreciate what the Debian team has managed to do over the years. But Ubuntu basically took Debian and made it even more accessible for people who think that a command line is a relic from the 1980's. And Mint has, arguably, taken Ubuntu and made it even easier. Along with polishing it up a bit. Am I completely off base here?
And yes, I'm aware that there is some controversy about Ubuntu, the GPL and licenses. I know that Ubuntu makes non-free software available without having to even think about it. And I'm also aware that the decision on Mir instead of Wayland seems a bit sketchy. Canonical presumably wants (or desperately needs) to find a way to monetize Ubuntu in some way. Maybe that's what turns people off. Especially those who might gravitate more towards Debian ideologically. But there is that "little" company called Red Hat which seems to be highly respected and garners frequent praise. Last I checked, Red Hat is a publicly traded, for-profit company...
Thoughts?