Questions about Linux Mint and this list

[Aaron Rainbolt]

Sadly, while Linux Mint is an Ubuntu derivative, it is an *unofficial*
Ubuntu derivative. Which means it isn't supported by any official
Ubuntu support services, this mailing list included.

Now, at first glance, this might seem silly, but there's actually a
very good reason for it.

For Ubuntu and all official Ubuntu derivatives (usually called
"flavours"), there are strict rules about what can and cannot be done,
monitoring procedures to ensure that problematic mistakes don't end up
in Ubuntu itself, etc. Any change that one flavour makes ends up
affecting all of them to some degree. Since Ubuntu and its flavours
are all the same thing under the hood, people offering support for
Ubuntu know what to expect and are more likely to be able to figure
out what's going wrong and how to fix it.

Things change when you look at an unofficial Ubuntu derivative like
Linux Mint. Since Mint isn't under the Ubuntu umbrella, they aren't
subject to the same rules and restrictions that official Ubuntu
flavours are subject to. They can do pretty much whatever they want,
however they want. If they decide to make a change that departs from
how Ubuntu works, that's their decision, and we have no right or
authority to tell them otherwise. And these unofficial derivatives can
and do make such changes.

When this happens, we don't know what to expect from the system we're
trying to support. Maybe the problem you're experiencing with package
XYZ is unique to your particular distro. It can result in wasted time,
for both us and those we try to support. So instead, we don't offer
support for unofficial Ubuntu derivatives, and instead ask users of
those derivatives to use whatever support methods the distro they're
using provides. This isn't done out of spite - it's actually helping
the user get the help they need faster.

Debian, the distro we derive from, treats us exactly the same way. If
you walk into a Debian support channel with an Ubuntu question, you're
going to be asked to try Ubuntu support, since what they know might
not apply to our distro. It makes it so that supporters and users
alike get help without unneeded delay.

If you need help with Linux Mint, I recommend you check out their
forums and the #linuxmint-help IRC channel. They would be happy to
help you and will have the best chance of being helpful.

Have a great day!
Aaron Rainbolt

(Note: I am not an employee or official representative of Canonical -
I'm just a guy who likes Ubuntu and help contribute to it.)

On Mon, Jul 18, 2022 at 10:41 AM Bret Busby <bret at busby.net> wrote:
>
> Hello.
>
> The first question, is, because Linux Mint appears to not have a mailing
> list equivalent of this one that we have for asking questions about
> Ubuntu, and, because one of the variants (the most common one, I think)
> of Linux Mint, is apparently, Ubuntu based, is it okay to ask questions
> about Linux Mint, on this list?
>
> The second question (assuming, and, hoping that it is okay), is, with
> Linux Mint 20.3 (because, from  my understanding, especially, from the
> article by Liam Proven, recently published on The Register web site,
> Linux Mint 21 is at the beta testing stage, and, has, as yet, no known
> or expected date of release), can it (relatively easily) be installed on
> a computer with MS Windows 11 installed?
>
> My wife, who is a MS .net systems developer, wants a new computer, with
> MS Windows 11 Pro installed on it, so she can play with her development
> tools, other than on her work computer, and, also wants to try Linux
> Mint (and, I am thinking about looking at Linux Mint, to get a current
> Linux version that is easy to use, that is not quite like the current
> Ubuntu), and, so, I am wondering whether the Linux Mint 20.3 (and 21,
> when it is released), can be relatively easily installed, and,
> dual/multiple boot (not concurrently, but, being able to choose which to
> boot, having both or more OS's installed) on a computer that has MS
> Windows 11 pre-installed on it, or, whether we would need separate
> computers for running MS Windows 11 and Linux Mint.
>
> I have read an article on the Register, about a "latest Lenovo"
> computer, that has some MS plutonium thing, that prevents OS's other
> than MS Windows, from being installed, and, I do not know whether MS
> Windows 11 prevents other OS's from being installed.
>
> Thank you in anticipation.
>
> --
> Bret Busby
> Armadale
> West Australia
> (UTC+0800)
> ..............
>
>
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