Very true. Linux Mint is much easier to use for people coming from windows and is supported with updates for a much longer time than e.g. Leap.
OpenSuse is a distro for administrators, IT-specialists and people that like to tinker with their OS.
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I’d call that utter nonsense. This as both YaDU ( Yet another Desktop User ) since 1998 on Linux and a linux sysadmin on S.u.S.E., SUSE and openSUSE systems/networks.
Please be careful with drawing generalized conclusions based on personal experiences and hearsay from so-called linux journalists.
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I cannot support this view. As reader of some German Linux forums I saw within the last six months quite a few people who came from MS Windows and failed to get a working Linux Mint installation.
However it looks like many people tried in the last 6 months to move from MS Windows 10 to Linux Mint. It would be interesting to see how many of them will stay on Linux (Mint). Most of them are not aware that Linux is not MS Windows (no matter which distribution they use) and that therefore they have to do some learning.
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@rafaelj3d I think it is good to have a conversation, what the project could potentially do to attract more users. However that decision can’t be based upon Google search trends. As those trends are not an indication of usage. That more search has been undertaken for Rocky vs openSUSE doesn’t mean more interest in Rocky. It could mean Rocky has problems that need to be resolved, that openSUSE does not have. Let’s not get into the nitty gritty here of Google. Just want to point out a weak argument to attract users.
The project has on the opensuse.org site for months a header to point to the EOL of Windows 10 and migrate to opensuse. Users not finding opensuse may be a thing and information is indeed scattered and appears often out-dated I agree. Though as I haven using openSUSE for the last 20 years I know my way around. There is an argument to make, to make it easier to adopt openSUSE. Why would openSUSE be not in the picture for a switch over? This has in part perhaps to do with the strong campaign that Ubuntu did when they launched. Linux == Ubuntu it became and it sticks a bit. That doesn’t help either.
@ferrarino Where does openSUSE state that Leap 16 is a server distro only?
@Teuniz Linux Mint is not easier. It is perception. Linux is still Linux under the hood and the majority of commands are shared. The only difference is the install process and the DE of choice. Where the latest change in installer with Leap 16 is doing a good job in appealing to the simplification.
Leap 16 code stream is expected to run for about 7 years? So what you see today on Leap will/should be the same around 2032?
Which 3 users are still on 11? 
One wonders… but in an air gapped environment if things are not broken, why fix…
I agree that search interest isn’t the same as usage. My point with Google Trends wasn’t to measure adoption, but simply to highlight the timing: many people are currently searching for Linux alternatives as Windows 10 reaches EOL. I fully understand the limitations of that metric.
About visibility, there’s one detail worth noting. The small “Make your old Windows 10 PC fast and secure again!” link on top to endof10.org, is a good initiative, but it promotes Linux in general, not openSUSE specifically. There’s no direct mention of Tumbleweed, Leap, or guidance into the openSUSE project. So it helps indirectly, but it doesn’t really bring newcomers to openSUSE.
And that was the whole motivation behind this topic. Even without Google Trends, the endof10.org campaign (and others) shows we’re in a moment where many users are actively considering a switch. Strengthening the first-contact experience, making it more visible, clear, and up to date, could help openSUSE catch this wave and turn new users into future contributors.
Why should it only promote openSUSE? Did you scroll down the page where the supporters are listed?
It is a initiative by several distributions, organisations, projects, software developers, repair cafes and much more.
It is not meant to promote a single distribution, but to give MS users a pusher: hey, you know there are alternatives to MS?
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Biggest problem here is that we absolutely have no lack of people with ideas. But ideas without practical follow-up are useless. Same for “discussions”. If no conclusions are drawn from the discussion, and everyone, feet on the couch, cigar in one hand, drink in the other, leans back until the next discussion / idea, nothing happens. That is how things work. Not only in open source projects, in every volunteer based project.
FWIW, and no offense intended: Where were you when we started writing/reviewing news articles about the end of W10? Did you read news.opensuse.org on the matter? I can give you the answer: No. Otherwise you would not have writen your OP. If you do some searching, you’d find we started those ~1 year ago.
This is a promise no one can keep up, I’d even call it a lie. Your old i3 with 4GB RAM is never going to be fast.
Not true either. Most people simply buy a new device, they don’t want an alternative. I would like to see numbers from f.e. Linux Mint and Zorin OS on how much of their growth in userbase is persistent, i.e. how many new users stayed > 1 year. My gut feeling is that those numbers might be pretty disappointing.
Yes, that’s what the section is for.
But as others have pointed out, ideas are abundant. But ideas without action are not helpful, so perhaps rather than just “simply exchanging ideas with other users”, which doesn’t cause action, a more fruitful approach would be to “work towards building a plan that we can then help execute”. There are a not insignificant number of contributors to the project, but they’re all doing stuff already. New ideas need new people to help carry them out.
Otherwise, it’s just talk, and as they say, talk is cheap.
Action with intent is what’s important.
I respectfully disagree that discussion without immediate implementation is useless. Before any engineering or action takes place, there must be a vision. For new users migrating from Windows, that vision isn’t about kernel versions or package managers; it’s about identity and affinity.
When a new user lands on a project’s homepage, they aren’t looking for specs first: they are looking for a philosophy that resonates with them. Look at how other projects position themselves right at the front page:
- AlmaLinux: Free Linux OS for the community, by the community
- Debian: Debian is a Community of People!
- EndeavourOS: Start your Endeavour with a lightweight Arch-based, terminal centric system ready to personalise and a stellar community at your side.
- Fedora: It’s your Operating System.
- Zorin OS: The alternative to Windows and macOS designed to make your computer faster, more powerful, secure, and privacy-respecting.
- Linux Mint: Give it a try. You’ll Love it! Most of our users come from Windows and they never look back.
- Elementary OS: The thoughtful, capable, and ethical replacement for Windows and macOS.
- MX Linux: MX Linux is a cooperative venture between the antiX and MX Linux communities. … antiX Linux: Proudly anti-fascist “antiX Magic” in an environment suitable for old and new computers.
- Manjaro: Manjaro Linux Empowering People and Organizations. Taking the raw power and flexibility of Arch Linux and making it more accessible for a greater audience.
- Pop!_OS: You’re in Control. Unleash your potential on a Linux operating system made to be productive and personal.
- CachyOS: Blazingly Fast & Customizable Linux distribution
- Kali Linux: The most advanced Penetration Testing Distribution. Ever.
…
openSUSE: Embrace the chameleon.
See the difference? The others speak to the user’s needs, feelings, or community. openSUSE speaks about… a mascot (ok, different).
My point in this thread was never to diminish the hard work of developers or say that code isn’t important. my point is that ideas are also a feature… that help the project to move forward!
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marketing@lists.opensuse.org mailing list
#marketing:opensuse.org on Matrix
These are the places where you would talk to the folks that do the news posts, run the social media, and get involved with changing the message, if you really feel that’s what needed.
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As sdunn noted, there’s a place specific to those discussions. Starting a discussion without understanding what’s already in place isn’t as useful as it sounds.
You’re starting with the assumption there’s no vision or “marketing message”. So maybe have a discussion with the folks on the marketing mailing list as a starting point, and learn what’s already underway and work WITH the existing team to get your ideas accepted.
Now Is the Moment for openSUSE to Make a Move
But here is a thought for the community right here, without needing a formal change: If the slogan isn’t going to change, then let’s double down on it.
I searched this forum, and the phrase “Embrace the chameleon” is barely mentioned. Compare that to the viral power of *I use Arch btw" , which is everywhere.
We could coordinate a grassroots effort: on YouTube videos, X (Twitter) threads, Reddit discussions, and Facebook groups about Linux… let’s simply drop the comment: “Embrace the chameleon.”
Let curiosity do the work.
If we turn it into a meme, create wallpapers, …, and spread the phrase mysteriously: people will come to see what it is about.
If the goal is visibility, we need to enter people’s heads. We can’t change the message, let’s make it loud.
Embrace the chameleon!
I see number changes in late 2024 for TW, but not big one. Just try to filter TW only in that graf and you will see.
Major drop is in previously inflated Leap. I saw in some discussion that Leap numbers were inflated due to some company constantly downloading Leap in theirs containers. My guess is that company left Leap containers or optimized container usage via caches.
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Are you willing to do the work? Are you willing to work with the existing marketing group and coordinate the effort?
As others noted, it isn’t just a question of users, it’s a question of contributors. Any thoughts about inspiring people to help with actually doing the work that needs to be done?
You can’t build a userbase and then not have sufficient contributors to be able to sustain the userbase. A grassroots campaign is a good idea, but if there’s not enough people to “deliver the goods”, then a grassroots campaign will fizzle.
A “get more people using the distros” campaign is short-lived otherwise, and could actually be detrimental if it’s not part of a more holistic approach.
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@hendersj
To answer your question: Contributors are born from the userbase.
You cannot harvest contributors from an empty field. It’s a funnel: you need 1,000 happy users to find 10 who report bugs properly, to find 1 who submits a patch.
Fearing a “grassroots campaign” because it might bring users that the project “can’t sustain” is good for stagnation. You need the influx of fresh energy to find the next generation of maintainers.
As for “doing the work”: I’m going to run my own independent experiment to test this hypothesis in the wild. No committees, no ideas, just action, for it:
Just Embrace the Chameleon! 
It’s not fear of a “grassroots campaign”. It’s about making sure that userbase growth is sustainable. And my pushback here is largely because I’ve seen people suggest efforts like this over the years who then walk away because nobody else was willing to take the idea and run with it. There are lots of people out there who are willing to say “here’s what YOU should do”, but who are unwilling to step up.
So it’s important to understand your intention and willingness to step up and contribute, rather than just being an “ideas person”.
User growth is generally good. But I’ve seen time and again where rapid growth in a user population outpacing the ability for contributors to keep up results in a net negative; user expectations don’t get met, and more harm than good comes of the effort. Ultimately, the majority of users who come to an open source project seem to generally feel the project owes it to them to deliver, not that they owe it to the project to contribute - and if their expectations aren’t met, then they switch distros. Again.
A ratio of 1000 new users to 1 net new contributor isn’t sustainable. So if the goal is to bring fresh energy into the maintainer pool, that needs to be part of the understanding from the new users. They may not be developers, but they need to have a willingness to learn and to grow.
A test of the hypothesis is good (and shows commitment to the idea - I see far, far too many people come in with great ideas who aren’t willing to put in the effort to try, so I commend you for taking some action to see how it works).
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I’ve wondered why Myrlyn/ YaST isn’t adapted for other platforms. Having an alternative to command line tools is what most general switchers need. Especially media professionals.
Being branded as an OpenSuse tool whilst being available accross many platforms would be good advertising as well as helping to bring devs over to contribute and improve the tool…
Bazaar store did well for Bazzite and it isn’t THAT amazing. IMO Myrlin/YaST is a software that has the potential to fundamentally improve linux for the less CLI inclined - if it can be adapted and pushed to other distros.
Another thing I’ve thought about is making a paid distro. Donations require a user to seek out how to support a project. Put a solid distro behind a small paywall, call it a supporter/ pro user tier and offer priority support here or via a dedicated system tool. I’m all for FOSS but I actually need a solid system to work from.
That’s my two pence.
Since moving to OpenSuse I’m less distracted by system instabilities and have time to make music. I’d happily pay for the distro as a supporter / pro tier user: ProSuse 