for clarification, does your mention of "goat" reference this user?

Yes, that's the user.

And thank you, greenjeans.  I appreciate the welcome.

Your comments about Windows are spot-on, I stopped using it altogether years ago.

This community has always been kind and helpful to me for the 8 years i've been a part of it, and this forum, small as it is, is still an easily searchable resource with a wealth of information. I hope it works out for you as well!

https://dev1galaxy.org/search.php?action=show_user_posts&user_id=6999

regardless, comment wherever you feel is most appropriate for your subject(s)/topic(s)

Firstly, I am not really involved in any communities (particularly online), so I really am out of the loop.  Even when I was doing all the technical aspects of the LAMP-stack web application business I started with a couple other people, I really wasn't connected to any Linux communities.  Now, several years after retiring, I've been using Windows as really the only thing I use the computer for is the occasional game with my family or watching something.  Not a great reason to use Windows, and as someone who fell in love with the power, flexibility, customizability, etc. of Linux now nearly two decades ago, I've had a distaste come up from time to time for the Windows presence, mostly ignored since I find no reason to feel negative about something I wasn't going to change for that time.

Anyway, the several years on Windows is likely to bring with it various annoyances.  Windows operates like malware more and more.  Now my hosts file is nearly 2000 lines long blocking known sources of potential MS malevolence.  I found it really interesting when, according to everything I could find online, and having been safe from forced updates for over a year, that suddenly MS had gotten in again.  I booted up one day and Cortana was back, things were all screwed up, and updates were coming in.

The more recent nonsense around Windows 11, the knowledge that inevitably it will be forced, and the awareness that much progress has been made on Wine and Proton means I've had that idea of switching back kicking around for a few weeks.  Also, my bootloader just disappeared the other day.  I don't know if windows did that, but I don't quite know what else would have.  Obviously, I could fix that pretty quickly, but again, I just don't use the computer for much so there isn't much impetus.

I started looking around for linux distros.  Besides Devuan there is a consistent recommendation from search results for a couple others.  Not wanting to bring negativity, I'll just say that the same lead is present in both and from what I've read in the forums so far, that person does not have a character which I wish to interact with.  I really don't want to deal with egos and proudly toxic personalities, nor do I really want to use their software when I'm aware of it and have other options.

Obviously, Windows and probably tons of software that is installed on it likely has egos and personalities, but I've been trying to remain ignorant.  I was probing these forums and reading conversations.  I contemplated making a post and engaging the community to see what I thought after having observing what I find distasteful in those others.  I also contemplated just not looking and using Devuan, lol, since that way I'll just bury my head in the sand on something that, again, bears little importance in my life.

Anyway, I happened to notice both of goat's threads recently, and that's something I can appreciate.  I figured that the presence of the post and interactions is good enough of a emblem to indicate that the distasteful things I'd rather avoid would likely not be present at the top of this organization.

So thank you, goat and others who responded.  From what I can tell, there isn't a necro rule, so I could respond to that thread.  I do have some thoughts, and that is more in the realm of the topics I like to discuss these days.

Thanks also to the Devuan team and community for doing what you do.