I've been using Linux "on the desktop" since '96. I stuck with it because, it's Unix. It's not BSD pretending to be Windows. It's not Android, running around

I've been using Linux "on the desktop" since '96. I stuck with it because, it's Unix. It's not BSD pretending to be Windows. It's not Android, running around with a Java dress on, pretending to be something it's not. X11 sucks and so does Unix. But they suck less than every other system out there. I can make X11 act however I want it to act. It can act like Windows, or it can act in some new way that was not blessed by the high priests, Apple, Microsoft, and Google. If I want my system to do something, Unix provides the toolset. It's an amazing ecosystem for learning, exploration, and creation. If you know a bit about Perl, Python, or Bash then you can pretty much make data do what you want. A file is not just an opaque blackbox, requiring a single expensive proprietary application to interact with it. Fitting together disparate tools in a way that was never envisioned by the authors of said tools is not a "hack." It's just good design.