I have started using Linux recently and have been enjoying the open-source nature of it. I was browsing a website called [distrowatch.com](http://distrowatch.com) that has hundreds of Linux distros. All of them are free to use (ubuntu, debian, Kali, Quebes, Tails, etc.) How are they maintained if it doesn’t cost anything to download and install them?
Thank you.
In: Technology
There can be significant work maintaining a distro, but it’s just a collection of other parts and tools. It’s quite easy if you just take a distro, tweak things to what you like, and release that as your own personal distro with a funny name.
But Debian, Arch, Ubuntu, openSuse, Red Hat, and Gentoo are all the real deal and take major effort to maintain. Not to mention the actual Linux kernel and the whole ecosystem of tools. And why all the effort? Mostly for free?
Because it’s for us. These are our tools. We want to make our own lives better. It costs us nothing to copy software, and the more eyeballs are on it and the more users it has makes it BETTER. Help any way you can. Bug reports, (good) recommendations, donations. The GNU and Linux are both legitimately good positive things for humanity in a world where that is scarce and rare. Making the world a better place [can be it’s own reward](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6XAPnuFjJc).
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