To a large extent, Ubuntu is the reason there is a Linux community. They did a lot of things right - mailing free installation CDs, having a guide for new users

To a large extent, Ubuntu is the reason there is a Linux community. They did a lot of things right - mailing free installation CDs, having a guide for new users, having a distro that made installation easier on more hardware than any other - but the one revolutionary change was to kill RTFM. Prior to Ubuntu, Linux was a tool for social misfits to get revenge on everyone else for getting stuffed in lockers in high school. Eric Raymond and his merry band of followers did way more than Microsoft to slow Linux adoption. Ubuntu put an end to that.