Thanks for the A2A.
That’s a valid question. And the answer is quite simple.
The reason is, because this kind of use is based on wrong assumptions. And Fedora supports these wrong assumptions. People don’t go for the tool for the job. They go for the easiest way out. They go for the one that sounds and looks best. They don’t go for the one that does the job best for them.
See, Fedora… think about the name and meaning of it for a second… has been split from Red Hat Enterprise Linux for development, to keep the server operating system clean and stable for clients. That is actually a very reasonable idea, which other people often miss. With many things. Linux distributions, websites, desktop software,…
Meanwhile, Fedora has become a known distribution. That is one part of the problem. The second part of the problem is, that Fedora has a server and a desktop branch.
And here is the problem and where the wrong assumption comes in. People think it’s a server operating system, just because the branch is called “server”. The problem with that is, that Fedora is still a development environment and the server branch in this case means, that it should be used to DEVELOP SERVER OPERATING SYSTEMS! Same for desktop.
The difference is, that Fedora is a live testing environment for DEVELOPMENT, not for production! But that is where the wrong assumptions lie. People don’t get that. They read “server” and think it’s a server operating system. They read “desktop” and think it’s a desktop operating system.
I’ve mentioned it a number of times. It’s not just the release cycles. Fedora has tons of disadvantages for production use. They are not that deep into drivers. They implement new technology WAY early. That’s important… FOR DEVELOPMENT, not for production!
One example would be Wayland, which has been implemented with Fedora back in 2016. Here is an interesting hint: Ubuntu has meanwhile stated, that Wayland won’t even be default in the 2020 long-term release, because “it’s not mature enough”. We are not talking about providing newest software here. Fedora is more than 5 years ahead of production… let me state it another way… 5 year ahead of PRODUCTIVE use!
But people don’t learn, understand and research. They expect the operating system to do the job for them. If it sounds nice and looks good and some other users, who have been using Linux for a few years but otherwise still have no clue, recommends it, they go for it. Even worse is, they also spread the rumor. And this is how it happens. This is how Fedora was second and is still under the top 5 of best desktop operating systems on Slant and 6th place for best Linux distribution for desktop. It’s not even a production environment!
Same by the way goes for Mint. People believe, that Linux is completely different than Windows, that they have to learn everything from scratch, that they can’t use Linux without knowing the console. They think, Linux is hard to use and it’s hard to learn how to use it. They hear about Mint. They see, that it’s structured similar to Windows. They try it and it’s a lot easier. Not than other Linux distributions. A lot easier than they EXPECTED in their own head an opinion. They never tried something else. They never made a reasonable comparison. They never tried Ubuntu, which Mint is a copy of. But now they claim, Mint is the best. Mint is a MARKETING TRICK but otherwise a poor choice! Look at Zorin. People pay for Zorin. A distro that is slow and otherwise offers stuff that comes free with other distributions. And why? Because they claim, it’s the easiest and best for Windows users.
And this is what happens with Fedora. People think it’s a server operating system, because the development branch for server is called “server”. They try it. it works. That’s the whole point by the way. Nobody develops to the end that it doesn’t work! And now it’s a viable desktop or server operating system and rumors are being spread! It’s just not true. It’s a wrong assumption. It’s not the tool for the job. It might do the job. But there are better options with clear advantages over Fedora out there!
People don’t understand, that purpose and functionality is more important than looks. They ask questions like why the GUIs on Linux are so ugly and look outdated, instead of asking about the functionality and asking which one is best for their purpose. And that is how it happens. If you make it look right, it gets used. Tool for the job or not.
People don’t get it. They don’t understand, that WINDOWS is the operating system for the easy way out and Linux is the kernel for versatility and PURPOSE. It gets the job done efficiently. No matter how it looks, while doing so. And the purpose of Fedora is NOT server or desktop use. It’s DEVELOPMENT.
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If this answer was helpful for you, please don’t forget to upvote it on Quora: https://www.quora.com/Why-would-someone-use-a-server-edition-of-Fedora-vs-a-more-stable-server-distro-with-longer-release-cycles-like-RHEL-or-CentOS/answer/Chris-Bailey-364