I've been using the Debian Linux distribution since the mid-1990s. I still use it. I had a brief exploration of Linux distributions, early on. It was brief partly, because there were so few of them.

• My first Linux installation was by Linus, to develop and test the installation method. He'd never installed Linux, because it grew on his PC on top of an existing Minix installation. He used my PC to figure out how to install Linux. This was in 1991.

• I then tried subsequent boot+root floppy images, by Linus or others, and the MCC Interim Linux distribution, and SLS. Possibly one or two others.

• Then in 1993, Debian was announced. I think I tried it first in 1994, and was hooked. Debian was interesting in particular because it was a community project: I could join and help. So I did. I became a Debian developer in 1996.

I've since used Ubuntu (while working for Canonical), and Baserock (while working for Codethink), and I've looked at several others, but I always return to Debian.

I like Debian for several reasons:

• I know it very well.
• I know the community of Debian developers.
• I trust the community of Debian developers.
• I trust the Debian project to follow its Social Contract.
• I trust the Debian project to vet software freedom of what they package.
• I trust the Debian project to update its packages for security fixes.
• I trust the Debian project to keep the privacy of its users in mind.

The key word here is trust. Over thirty years, I've built very strong trust in Debian doing the right thing, from my point of view. That's a pretty high bar for any other distribution to clear.