When I first started with Linux, I bought a Red Hat CD and even had to call
support for help. I learned quickly, though, and before long I moved over to
Slackware.
Slackware was where Linux really started to click for me. It felt simple,
direct, and close to the metal in a way that taught you how the system actually
worked.
Around the Slackware 7 era, things started to feel uncertain commercially.
Slackware had been published by Walnut Creek CDROM, but after the BSDi/Wind
River changes, the commercial side of Slackware was left in a shaky position.
That was around the time I started looking elsewhere and eventually moved to
Debian.
Since then, I have spent a lot of time running Debian and Ubuntu, but Slackware
still deserves credit for teaching me the most important early lessons about
Linux.
KiltedTux
Plaid, penguins, and shell scripts.