Comment by jwr

I used Gentoo for many years, initially for the performance gains (they were very real in 2003/2004), later for the long-term stability and maintainability.

I later switched to Ubuntu, because it was what "everyone" used, and it's easier to use the popular thing. The idea of a Major Upgrade every couple of years still scares me (and it still isn't flawless).

These days I might switch back, given that Ubuntu is slowly sliding into becoming adware.