DistroWatch is a popular web portal that tracks new Linux distribution releases, informs the changes briefly and offers a catalog of details for almost every distribution.
Even though it provides essential information regarding most of the distros, it looks like it does not display correct details for Nitrux Linux. Of course, with tons of information to manage and update — it is highly likely that some information could be outdated or incorrect.
However, when Uri Herrera reached out to request correction, the maintainer of DistroWatch seems to believe that Nitrux is lying about the information being requested to be modified.
Hence, Nitrux Linux had to come up with an open letter where they explain more about the incident and demand an apology for making such kind of remarks.
DistroWatch Information Page on Nitrux
As you can notice in the screenshot above, DistroWatch lists it as a distro based on Ubuntu (LTS), which it isn’t anymore.
In fact, we have previously reported that Nitrux Linux ditched Ubuntu favoring Debian as its base completely. Also, Nitrux wasn’t totally based on Ubuntu, but utilized Ubuntu sources.
You can also go through our interview with Uri Herrera to explore more about Nitrux distribution.
In addition to that, there is also an interesting piece of information here:
Registration with an e-mail address was required to download this distribution, however public downloads have been available since mid-2020
I think this may have been poorly worded. Nitrux was already publicly available to download.
It required sponsorship/donation to access and download the stable ISO while they offered development/minimal builds and the source for free.
Not just limited to this, but DistroWatch also fails to mention the correct version number.
So, definitely, something needs correction while the maintainer of DistroWatch, Jesse Smith (@BlowingUpBits) does not seem to be on the same side as per this tweet:
And, this led to the open letter where Uri Herrera mentions:
Because of this, we make the request publicly that you or your staff amend the erroneous information that you display on your website about our product, including logos, names, links, descriptions, and versions. Additionally, we demand an apology from you and the staff member responsible for the incident that finally led to this open letter. Our request is non-negotiable, and we will not accept anything less for our demand.
Closing Thoughts
If it isn’t a surprise, this is a simple matter of correcting information while the creator of Nitrux Linux is trying to request the necessary changes.
Nitrux Linux has always been assumed as a “commercial” distribution in the past just because they had a paywall like Zorin OS’s ultimate edition, which isn’t true either. Nitrux Linux was always a free and open-source Linux distribution with a unique approach.
What do you think about the points mentioned in the open letter? Should DistroWatch make amends here to display correct information? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.
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