Debian is fairly stable, has been around for ages but is still active, is completely free and community-driven, and most people are familiar with the package ma

Debian is fairly stable, has been around for ages but is still active, is completely free and community-driven, and most people are familiar with the package management and config file structure on Debian (or Debian derivatives). On top of that, it was already a pretty popular distribution. The more people use it, the more documentation becomes available, and the more new people will pick it up.