"Yet this popularity has a flip side. If Ubuntu is the most popular distribution, it is also the most hated. Last year, a survey on the Linux Hater's blog listed Ubuntu as "the most hated community distro." Search Google for "why I hate Ubuntu," and 9260 hits are returned -- compared to 376 for the equivalent phrase for Debian, and 11 for Fedora.
"What is happening here? How can Ubuntu be both so successful and so determinedly attacked? The attacks, like so much that is negative in the free software community, are likely from a minority whose obsessiveness gives them the illusion of numbers. Yet, if so, it still seems a larger minority than usual.
"The explanation seems to be that Ubuntu is attacked from several perspectives. Partly, the attacks may be simply a consequence of business as usual. But other grievances also seem to be aired when Ubuntu is attacked. They range from a perception that Ubuntu is stealing from Debian or is an upstart in free software in general to accusations that the distro is not a member in good standing of the community. But perhaps the largest reason is that Ubuntu is a victim of its own success, and has created expectations that it has yet to fill completely."
