MX Linux Forum

I've used several Linux distros over the years (mostly lightweight and Debian-based), and MX Linux is my favorite. It's a more polished version of antiX Linux, a lighter and faster version of Linux Mint (albeit unofficial), and a better-supported version of Linux Mint Debian Edition (albeit unofficial). MX Linux is not only very user-friendly but also so polished that I'm never really tempted to tinker around with it. I like the Debian Stable base, because it's lightweight and low maintenance. I don't like Ubuntu as a base, because it's too slow and heavy for old computers.

I also appreciate the persistence and tenacity of the antiX/MEPIS team, because Snowlinux and Crunchbang Linux (both of which I used and liked in the past) are defunct. Even though I prefer MX over antiX, I like the changes in antiX that I've seen over the years, such as pre-installed LibreOffice.

Here are the reasons I prefer MX Linux over other distros:
1. Puppy Linux: Puppy Linux is very user-friendly and even more lightweight than MX/antiX Linux, but it doesn't have the vast software repository of a Debian base. That said, Puppy Linux is great as a rescue CD. For reasons I don't understand, it's better than other distros at recovering files from failing drives.
2. Linux Mint (Ubuntu base): It's the distro that I recommend to people switching away from Windows, but a Ubuntu base is much heavier and slower than a Debian base, and a Ubuntu base requires far more maintenance than a Debian stable base.
3. Linux Mint Debian Edition: It's as user-friendly and polished as the Ubuntu-based editions, but it's just not as well supported. There hasn't been a release since March 2015, nearly 2 years ago. The Linux Mint team is so busy supporting the Ubuntu-based editions that LMDE gets less attention. In contrast, the antiX/MX team is 100% dedicated to the Debian base.

If Linux Mint killed distro-hopping, then MX Linux could be another nail in that coffin, because it's that good. I'm hard-pressed to think of any major changes I'd like to see. In the Linux Mint forums, there are sometimes people who wish for a lighter and faster version of Linux Mint. MX Linux is the distro for them.

Thanks for the good words--and welcome to the Forum!

May I add my welcome too. Fully agree with your comment " MX Linux is not only very user-friendly but also so polished that I'm never really tempted to tinker around with it."

Welcome also. I have been trialing Mint 'Serena' for a couple of weeks on an older box for experience with something I considered similar to MX. Password entry is more frequent by comparison and as user v root in MX for a few items. They have a way to swap repositories and many more options (understandably) so I switched from a glitching major uni mirror to a major ISP provider's mirror. Your comments help me place Mint in the family tree as it were, cheers

Mick

Welcome and thanks for your words.

I would state however that if you treat MEPIS or its community as not defunct, then Crunchbang is also not defunct. Both projects had their original developer stopping work but had their community stepping in to continue it. CB's successor is called Bunsenlabs (Muppet show reference).

Hello jhsu802701,
I echo others here in welcoming you to the forum and welcoming your comments which I also largely agree with.
One thing though, your point 2. and this was somewhat discussed in the recent Distrowatch review where the reviewer implied/suggested that MX16 is more for the non-newbie (to Linux) user. Well, maybe I am a non-newbie to Linux but as I have written previously, my 20 odd years of dabbling in Linux has until now been just that, a dabble. It was for me, so comfortable to seriously consider leaving Windows. In fact, I would say at this point-in-time, even though I continue to dual-boot with Windows, I spend 80% of my computer time in MX16. I've tried to put myself in a new Windows leaver's shoes and I really can't see how Mint is anymore user friendly than MX16 for such a user (and yes, I've dabbled in Mint before too). One thing that a newbie might be well advised to do by supporters of MX who are in a position to recommend, is to point them to the wealth of videos and tutorial material that is easily accessible from the MX Community pages and perhaps in addition one (as I have) could do up a small document describing a) how to get MX and b) what to do when they get it (in terms of tuning and etc). I've written a Tips for New Users that you might care to refer to as well.
Cheers.

Jerry from MX Facebook page suggested I import my semi-rant to the MX Forum. This thread seemed to fit, as I don't particularly wish to torque off anyone by starting a new one...
RE: a Quora question as to why someone uses Windows, Linux or MacOS:

Franklin Veaux, Apple developer since the days of the Lisa, on Feb 18 wrote:I use, and develop for, all three...
I don't tinker with my computer. I don't sit there customizing it and changing the flapdoodle matrix to the turboencabulator interface like so many Linux fans do. I use my computer for other things, not as an end in itself. I boot it, I launch apps, and I do work. I have little interest in messing with the computer itself—it’s a tool, not a toy....
The Linux users who talk about how much they love Linux because you can customize everything frankly baffle me....
<THIS> It's like saying “I love Acme screwdrivers because I can change the color of the grip and I can choose plastic or rubber trim on the handle and I can make the end of the grip be round or square!” And…um, so? HOW GOOD IS IT AT DRIVING SCREWS? That's all I care about.
<& THIS> I don't buy screwdrivers to change the color of the handle and I don't choose an operating system so that I can change between init or systemd. To me, that's missing the whole point.

Which pretty much expresses why I LOVE MX so much. It's a truly beautiful, AND FUNCTIONAL,
TOOL !
Back when I learned Linux the FIRST TIME, circa 2001-2003, X-Win was in its infancy, and Linux (specifically Debian) was being used at the Community College where I was attempting to get a 2nd Bachelor's degree, in Computer Science (the 1st was in agricultural Integrated Pest Management, some 20 years previous) as an inexpensive learning and teaching TOOL. X was a novelty, and kind of useless, frankly. It boggles my mind how Linux Users have been transmogrified* into the nearly unrecognizable enthusiasts that exist today. Such would have been anathema to the 18-20 something CIS students my middle-aged self was rubbing shoulders with--and learning from--back then!
*transformed, especially in a surprising or magical manner.

I find the quoted statement a bit arrogant. If you like to modify, tinker, change things in Linux you are somehow a lesser being. I enjoy all that tinkering, but also use MX as a tool. So I have the best of both worlds, and have little use for his opinion.

I like the fact that you CAN tinker with it without breaking it.
But, if I've learned nothing else in the last 64 years of my existence it is:
Just because you CAN do a thing, doesn't mean that you MUST, or even SHOULD.

Agree unless you like to. Then you should.

Thanks, Azriele. I don't find it arrogant, just interesting.

Jerry3904 wrote:Thanks, Azriele. I don't find it arrogant, just interesting.

Don't misunderstand I did not find Azriele arrogant, just the quote from Franjlin.

+1

Don't misunderstand I did not find Azriele arrogant, just the quote from Franjlin.

Franjlin sounds like an old Windows programmer friend of mind. We don't discuss system choices. :)

[PS: Windows 10 just ate his lunch. "hit by some form of the Zeus mal-ware/scare-ware in Chrome..."
So, he's back in a Debian install with Windows in a box working to make up the lost day trying to clean up.
For a person who makes his living programming for Windows, it is costly --lost time, security, peace of mind.]

While one can indeed spend countless hours just "messing around" on a Linux system as an end goal, he speaks as if it is such a big or difficult deal to, let's say, change a theme or icon set, reposition the panel or add applets in Linux. It's not, unless you're forever searching for new themes and customisation bits and bobs.

Is it as easy on Apple systems as it is in Linux? This is a real question as I don't know.

Hi! I joined the forum just to post this. Though I mostly use Porteus now, I've used AntiX, and various Puppies in the past.

I have to chime in about the Franklin Veaux quote. It is pretty dismissive of modern Linux culture, but it is also kinda dead on: modern Linux culture is a tweaking culture. Not computer users, computer tweakers. We spend an enormous amount of time and worry about pimping our ride. WOW, look at my gtk theme! WOW, look at my conky. WOW, look at my dock! Yes it's fun, and I get to show off my good (or abysmal) taste. But it's also kinda pointless.

Back in the DOS days, we didn't worry about our computer's looks... mostly because they were all butt ugly. Everything was Wordperfect, qedit, turbo-C, foxpro. Then came Win 3.1. No one complained about it's looks, Hey, we had dialog boxes, menu bars and combo lists.

We came from a world of DOS, just DOS, no no spam, just DOS. Then we went to a world of Windows... just Windows. Yes you can kinda theme Windows now, but Windows always looks like Windows. There is no XFCE / MATE / Gnome 3 / Cinnamon / Deepin, etc wars. If you run Windows you can have any style you want, as long as it's Windows.

It's baffling. Linux has become a fragmented community that's got dozens of distros with a dozen different DE's. Just to run the same software on the same hardware. With the same panel and applets and dock and window decoration. Have you ever noticed that there is very little difference in the look of LXDE or XFCE or MATE or Cinnamon or Pantheon etc. We are wasting a lot of time futzing around with things that aren't very different. We are scaring away the hoards of Windows users from using a great free OS because it's so confusing for them. What should they install, what should they configure, do they know these buzz words? Have you ever tried to explain Linux to a noob in person, and watch their eyes glaze over when you talk about partitions, or root, or permissions? Windows comes set up. Windows is easy. Windows just works. What the hell's wrong with you Linux weenies anyway?

Can you imagine buying a car and being told that you have to download an eprom patch to make your fuel injection and transmissions systems work. No, the dealership won't help you, but there's an internet forum where you can ask questions. Just remember to follow the rules, and not to ramble, and don't cross-post and only one topic per post. And read the fine manual, dumbass.

We buy a computer to do our homework, or manage our household, or run a business, or surf the internet, or watch movies, or play video games, or maybe even write software. Sure, I want my system to look nice. So give me a choice of 20 wallpapers, 5 bitchin' themes and make the system figure out the rest of it. Vivaldi manages to make everything color coordinate. So can Linux.

mjaksen writes, to me anyway, a lot of sense. I came up through the same path, DOS, Win 3.1, a brief time with Apple at work, a series of Windows updates, not all of them improvements, Then, while using XP, I was introduced to Linux. Tried various options - and as mjaksen says, there are many. Too many ? Yes, I think so. A problem with LInux, is that is fairly easy to experiment, too easy. Thus we have umpteen variations on the original development from Unix, a whole heap of differing
Linux systems to choose from. Certainly confusing, and scary, for an immigrant from a Microsoft environment. I am possibly fortunate in being directed to Mepis, then MX.

One should not be too critical of experimenters and developers, who are improving (sometimes) and creating new Linux variations. But to a person coming in, to a low cost, but new system, the multiple options are frightening. In the long term, who knows where we are going?

Not that I need to worry. Long term does nor exist.
Gordon.

...We buy a computer to do our homework, or manage our household, or run a business, or surf the internet, or watch movies, or play video games, or maybe even write software.

The type of user you are referring to matters a lot.

If it was so much easier to get Linux pre-installed in computers that we buy, you might get more Linux users who were only interested in using their computer as a tool or appliance. In such instances, those users might not be tweakers or so pre-occupied with customising their machines.

I am currently in the process of switching away from Windows to Linux, with Win7 as my "final" Windows incarnation and MX-16 (after a stint with Arch and MX-15) my OS of choice, with Win7 running in a VM as fallback.

To be completely frank, I would never go away from Windows if MS had not bungled update after update after update. I had some hopes for Windows 10 but when it eventually arrived it became clear that it was an ever bigger no-go than 8.x. So an alternative is clearly needed -- but what?

The main reason why I'd not leave Windows "unforced" is that I have a polished, highly optimised work environment that let's me do my work as efficiently as I can make it. It is quite possible to achieve the same (or perhaps even a higher) level of efficiency with Linux, no doubt about that -- but doing so means weeks, perhaps months of disruption and loss of productivity. I now know that I have to bite that bullet so I will, but I am not keen on it.

So Linux it's gotta be -- but which one? I am lucky in that I feel at home at the command line... the simplest of DEs will do the job and I have never looked at anything other than basic XFCE. But even if ones settles for one of the XFCE-based distros -- do you use ext4 or btrfs? Which kernel -- the included one or Liquorix or ...? And so on. Choice is good if you can intelligently choose from the various options but it is utterly bewildering if you can't.

The amount of stuff I have over the decades learned to do with Apple DOS, CP/M, MS-DOS and finally Windows always came in small, manageable doses, one new technology, new feature or new product at a time (making a 440hz sound with my Apple was a grand achievement... nowadays I'm happily handling 25000+ tracks of music in various codecs, just to give one example). Switching from Windows to another OS involves readjusting many of these things -- all more or less at the same time -- and all the while you do not know whether what you're doing is best practice or whether you're falling from one newbie trap into the next.

Linux (on the distro, not the kernel, level) appears too fragmented for many users (another reason not to switch for many people I know, though never for me, is the prevalence of MS Office and its file formats). That fragmented landscape held me back for many years and it is still something that I am not comfortable with. There is a concept in programming language design called orthogonality (meaning roughly that you do not need umpteen different ways to achieve the same thing) -- modern Linux distros are some of the least orthogonal systems I have ever used. Nevertheless, I agree with the general sentiment of this thread, that MX-16 is my favourite distro: I want a system that is safe and stable, allows me to work as efficiently as possible and needs almost no maintenance and whose inner workings I understand. I do hope that MX will deliver but it is quite possible that there's a better alternative out there. I'll never know:-)

All this IMHO and YMMV.

I stumbled onto MX Linux when I was trying to load Lubuntu onto some old Compaq Presario laptops. I tried several Ubuntu-related distros to no avail.

AntiX seemd like a possibility for these old computers, and I'd used it before, but ... it was pretty Spartan, and I want to be able to put these and other computers into the hands of regular people, who need a comfortable Desktop Environment. I tried MX 16 and Bob's your uncle! Worked fine, and the DE seemed to be thoughtfully designed for new users. Perfect!

I personally enjoy the wide variety of distros. The diversity releases creativity and enables everyone to find a niche.

It seems overwhelming at first, when you go to DistroWatch and see the hundreds of possibilities. In fact,though, once you specify your needs, the number of distros is whittled down considerably.

If you want a Microsoft-like unirormity, then default Ubuntu is the way to go. You might not like some aspects, but it's a reasonable choice and it's got a huge following. For commercial applications, there is Red Hat.

My needs are different. I want:
- a distro that is not too heavy, which can run on old computers, back to Pentium 4 and Pentium M.
- a huge user base, with forums and answers to support questions
- stability and continuity. Many distros seem to be one- or two-person operations which disappear when the developers run out of energy.
- a focus on making the environment comfortable for new users.

I have settled on:
- Ubuntu Mate. Preferred since it is close to the Ubuntu mothership and they seem to have a lot of enthusiasm.
- Lubuntu. For very old computers, since it requires so few resources. Rather barebones though
- Linux Mint Mate. My first distro. Focussed on user friendliness, but it has a problematic relationship with Ubuntu and the team doesn't seem to be as technically adept as the Ubuntu Mate team.

I like what I've seen so far about MX Linux. I like the independent thinking about the user experience, and the friendly community. I like the fact that it runs fast and seems to work on older hardware. The small size of the user base (as compared to Ubuntu) would make it hard for me to use on computers that I give away. But we'll see. I definitely like the spirit of the MX community.

I ran through the parade of operating systems described by other graybeards in previous comments: CP/M, DOS from 2.x, AmigaDOS, Windows from 3.1 on, HP-UX (HP's version of UNIX), MPE-xL (HP's proprietary OS). I feel I'm in hog heaven with Linux - all the variety, access to the command line, and some highly developed user interfaces. This is a wonderful time to be a UNIX/Linux fan.

Welcome to MX-Linux and to this Forum Bart. We may be a smallish group when compared with say, Ubuntu, but we are growing, and are very friendly.

The small size of the user base (as compared to Ubuntu) would make it hard for me to use on computers that I give away. But we'll see. I definitely like the spirit of the MX community.

Ditto to Gordon's welcome Bart. I have a friend who also makes computers available for little or no cost to his friends and his experience is a little like yours may be in that it is indeed a bit of a challenge in convincing everyone that MX (or any other Linux platform) is going to suit them like the Windows platforms they may have been familiar with. That said, and as Gordon said, MX is growing. It is indeed growing in both adoption and numbers on this forum (28 on Distrowatch at last check and heading for 6,000 in forum numbers). I believe that with the advantages that Linux brings to the table particularly in today's computing world and with such great distros as MX, Linux generally can't help but progress.

27 on Distrowatch--6 months, 50 for 12 months; but that doesn't convey the whole picture. MX16 began on Distrowatch back on December 13th, at the very bottom (somewhere around 237 for both), because the previous iterations were lumped in with AntiX. That's only 5-1/2 months! That's one helluva climb.

The small size of the user base (as compared to Ubuntu) would make it hard for me to use on computers that I give away.

I hear ya, but I've steered more than a dozen folks (most of 'em noobs) to using MX, without regrets. AFAIK, only one of 'em has ever registered here at the forum; his help request was quickly resolved. Seldom do the other folks pester me with questions/helpme's, so I guess that indicates troublefree operation.


BTW: What's the latest guestimate, total number of MX16 installs?

Who the heck knows? The only numbers I have are for downloads (SourceForge and torrents only), which ATM are about 55,000.

Missing are all the other mirrors, and of course what appears to be a significant multiplier effect, since we have seen numerous accounts of people passing it to friends and relatives.

Missing are all the other mirrors, and

Aye, as well as iso copies retrieved via bittorrent...

i like mx because it is debian stable based and user friendly like linux mint. what could be better? well , an improved mx... and rolling release perhaps?

MX has made it easy and will continue to "roll" within a single version of Debian, but roll to the next, Jessie to Stretch, unlikely.

And an approximate mid-year release is now being worked on that current MX 16 users can migrate to with all Jessie upgrades and native MX improvements.

The Linux users who talk about how much they love Linux because you can customize everything frankly baffle me....

Understandable. We all can't be rocket scientists. Some of have to learn the hard way. Tweaking our install is part of the learning process. You have to start some where when you are on the bottom looking up.

Lack of Empathy is what baffles me from techs that prefer to strut around with High Hats. Like the world evolves around them.

Just beating a dead horse I saw laying around on this thread.

The Linux users who talk about how much they love Linux because you can customize everything frankly baffle me....

I would put it a different way. I want to have control over my system, the way it looks, the way I start apps, the way I can get software. You do not get this with Windows. You can call that customization, if so
personnalisation longue durée.

richb wrote:MX 16 users can migrate to with all Jessie upgrades and native MX improvements.

So we are expecting more polished stuff? good to hear that. And i like native mx features, i forgot that before. In fact i wonder why other distros don't do similar things.

So we are expecting more polished stuff?

If you believe Debian Jessie upgrades are more polished, yes. But remember if you regularly update your current MX-16 system you will get them anyway.

I use MX because I don't have to tweak it that much; it is set up pretty much like I like it.

That said, Puppy Linux is great as a rescue CD. For reasons I don't understand, it's better than other distros at recovering files from failing drives.

I forgot to thank Adrian and crew for getting that custom roll of "WorkBench" out. It saved my bacon last week pulling files off of a dying old 2003 server SAS drive.

Pretty work, boys and girls!

The Tramp

PhantomTramp wrote: I forgot to thank Adrian and crew for getting that custom roll of "WorkBench" out. It saved my bacon last week pulling files off of a dying old 2003 server SAS drive.

Pretty work, boys and girls!

The Tramp

So glad to hear it was useful for something, I wanted to post a question to see if anybody is using it :)

Adrian wrote:

PhantomTramp wrote: I forgot to thank Adrian and crew for getting that custom roll of "WorkBench" out. It saved my bacon last week pulling files off of a dying old 2003 server SAS drive.

Pretty work, boys and girls!

The Tramp

So glad to hear it was useful for something, I wanted to post a question to see if anybody is using it :)

workbench gets a lot of "press" over on Sudo Reboot's youtube channel (he does mostly live feeds). He tends to call it "mx-17" :)

I know it's confusing, and now we are going to release MX 16.1 in middle of 2017...

I renamed my copy to "MX-Workbench-17.02.iso"
so I'll remember it arrived in 2017-Feb.

I keep a copy on an 8 GB Utility Ez2boot USB:

• Hirens.BootCD.15.2.iso
  MX-Workbench-17.02.iso
  Rescatux_cdrom_usb_hybrid_i386_amd64-486_0.30.2_sg2d.iso
  SystemRescueCd-x86-4.8.3.iso

plus

• MX-16_May_386.iso
  MX-16_May_x64.iso

Thanks for the welcome, Gordon Cooper and linexer2016! It really makes a difference to newcomers.

I hadn't seen much about MX Linux on computer sites. Distro reviewer Chris Were had a favorable review on YOuTube, though he didn't seem to know what to make of it. I remember seeing MEPiS as the distro of choice in the 2005 book "Point & Click LInux!". Apparently there's a histroy here that I'll have to learn more about.

Once again Bart, you are most welcome I am sure. Hopefully, there are and will be an increasing number of newcomers to this great distro and this forum going forward. I occasionally try (in Virtualbox) other distros (just to keep my finger on the pulse) but so far nothing I've seen has convinced me that there's anything out there that's superior to MX. I've seen posts in the past that MX with the XFCE desktop can be a little boring however, I can't understand that when it is so easy to (for example) set up say four desktops and give each its own wallpaper. One can also select from a wide array of themes, icons and fonts so again, I do not understand why one can't tweak MX's visuals to one's tastes and whatever else might be said, surely the rock stable distro that MX is creates a high degree of comfort for those trying the Linux eco system perhaps for the first time.

HELP!! Not to segway this too much but in general Linux help is atrocious. Forum topics that go round and round forever slowly dribbling off into an abyss; topics that are marked [SOLVED] by the op whose final comment is "I got it fixed"; technical responses that are way over the head of anyone other than a dedicated geek which are then disputed vehemently by other geeks arguing that the original answer was totally ridiculous; RTFM!; and, finally "man linux".

Anyway so far I'm enjoying life on this "Pottering" free distro with things actually working "out of the box".

phil_n

phil_n wrote:HELP!! Not to segway this too much but in general Linux help is atrocious. Forum topics that go round and round forever slowly dribbling off into an abyss; topics that are marked [SOLVED] by the op whose final comment is "I got it fixed"; technical responses that are way over the head of anyone other than a dedicated geek which are then disputed vehemently by other geeks arguing that the original answer was totally ridiculous; RTFM!; and, finally "man linux".

Anyway so far I'm enjoying life on this "Pottering" free distro with things actually working "out of the box".

phil_n

Get two people together and you get 100 opinions, sometimes conflicting. Heck, I often disagree with myself within a minute or two.
But bottom line people are trying to help with good intention. I find it hard to criticize that. And if you knew the effort that goes into the manual and care to get it right, it is frustrating to the authors and developers that it is often ignored when the answers are there. Nevertheless they try to help with answers in post responses.

I realized after I posted that that it might be taken as referring to here but that wasn't meant. Just a general thought after many years of trying to use linux (like go to help in an app and all that's there is "About"). Here - I posted a question one day and got an answer the same day that fixed my problem - can't beat that. Think I'll hang around for a while.

Oh, I just noticed the manual today. I usually ignore FOSS manuals (google is usually quicker/better) as it seems a number of programmers are not really interested in documentation but yours does look more comprehensive and complete than most. I will make more effort to look there in the future.

On a sign the other day: Talking to yourself is OK, answering yourself is OK, it's when you start asking yourself to repeat what you just said that might be a problem.

phil_n

Thanks for clarifying. I mis-interpreted your post. We are not immune to mis-information here either. But an effort is made to clean it up and posts do sometimes ramble and get off topic. I hope the difference is that we try to recognize these counter productive impulses and take appropriate action with a velvet glove rather than an iron fist.

Welcome to the Forum!

take appropriate action with a velvet glove rather than an iron fist.

At the risk of sounding offensive and unappreciative of a) a wonderful distro and b) a great forum, I can't let it go by without saying that my feeling about some of the responses to the posts in the wider forum are indeed less than "velvet glove". Yesterday I saw a post from a newbie forum member viewtopic.php?f=127&t=42530&p=418672&hi ... ly#p418672 who resolved to quit for the night clearly because he/she claimed that the response he/she received was "not too friendly". This to me is a disappointing development in the forum because from the time I joined the forum in December 2016, I had found the forum anything but non-friendly. I can't nevertheless do other than conclude that things have taken somewhat a turn since then with recent notions that the forum is/should be the last resort for answers. I don't understand that for I have always thought that a strong forum should be one of the first places for answers. Yes, I understand completely that developers, administrators and veteran posters might well feel at times that new migrators/adopters of MX and Linux in general could and even should get their answers first by research. However, you might see that this is in and of itself a little contrary to the overall idea of a forum that is devoted to a particular Linux distro that would do well by itself and its members by acknowledging that new adopters can't be expected to know a) "best practice" in the use of the forum (and I have posted on this in another thread) and b) that they necessarily are equipped to ask the right questions elsewhere than the forum to ensure they get the correct answers.

Well of course you are entitled to your opinion as is everyone. I was referring to admins and moderators, but you may disagree with that as well. We often refer people to the manual, wiki and Google searches, not part of the forum to get information from whatever legitimate source they can. So the leadership group does not believe the forum is the only source of information

Secondly in any group of people there will be some who are dissatisfied with answers to posts. Respectfully, someone dissatisfied and choosing not to participate, I believe, is not indicative of a change in policy or a development, as this has happened throughout the history of the MX Forum and the old Mepislovers Forum on rare occasions.

Respectfully, someone dissatisfied and choosing not to participate, I believe, is not indicative of a change in policy or a development,

Hello Richb, I am not sure if I am reading your words here as meaning that I don't participate? If that is your meaning then I am quite bemused. I am approaching some 300 posts since December 2016 and so what other participation is needed? Again, I come from the perspective that a forum is there (or should be I believe) to coalesce and collate the many and varied needs of its members. Thank you nevertheless for respecting my opinion(s).

I was NOT referring to you, but in general those who have chosen to leave the Forum over the years.

But this highlights another problem, the mis-interpretation of the written word.

I also like Debian but never like the installation process, I think that's one of the main reasons I never really used it

Recently I installed Debian 8 on a external hard drive and I was surprised how fast it really was. Mx16 is also very fast so I decided to give it a try and like it very much

I run a number of different distribution including Ubuntu, Ubuntu mate, Fedora25, Manjaro, Kubuntu, Lubuntu, but they don't come close to the speed like MX16. I know it may be a little lighter then Ubuntu but still it's a great os

Probably lighter than Ubuntu out of the box, but of course you can add a multitude of packages. Check out the Package Installer in MX Tools.
Our packagers also take requests, or on their own, packaging from Stretch with updated applications. They also make available applications not in the Debian repos upon request.

this highlights another problem, the mis-interpretation of the written word

Yes richb I concur. I think we've now covered off on our discussion well enough so we should move on I think you would agree.
Best wishes.

hello jhsu802701
hi Robg. Our attention has gone to the comparison of installers that You began to write. I think mx installer is the best in the business. Will You continue writing with your concluding impressions of the mx installer considering your experience with the named nine systems, and probably more, that you have installed.? Thanks for joining mx.

Got bored on LinuxMint 18 XFCE today.
MX-17 feels more like homemade pie! :)