Here’s the thing, though: Linux as a desktop is absolute trash and it doesn’t matter if you have been using it as a desktop operating system for 30 years, it’s still absolutely trash for anyone with an idea of what a desktop OS should be.
It is trash in the exact same way that GIMP is trash compared to professional tools.
The quality just isn’t there, and the quality will never be there so long as design decisions are made by anything resembling a democracy.
The open source model works for code. It does not work for design, and open source developers somehow believe they are as good of a designer as they are a developer, and that has never been true for anyone, ever.
Asking that someone be forced to switch to Linux from Windows or Mac is akin to forcing them to use GIMP instead of Photoshop, and if that sounds like a perfectly fine thing to you, you are blind to some very important things. Being blind to those things is fine so long as you’re aware of that blindness.
Most people interact with a computer only via web browser, office suite and maybe a few additional programs (zoom, teams). I think some of my family members almost wouldn't notice the difference if they were to suddenly start using Linux Mint.
Your idea of what a desktop OS should be feels subjective. I'm using Linux as a desktop operating system for 20 years, I've used Windows before, I use Windows sometimes even today (currently only in VMs dedicated to malware analysis and reverse engineering tools), and - to me - Windows is much more annoying. This feels like personal preference and not an objective statement like you did.
It isn’t trash, it just isn’t trying to provide a customer service like relationship for non-technical users. Why would any distro do that? It just seems like a headache, for no benefit.
It also isn’t trying to provide a cohesive API for the OS as a whole, or anything less than a complete nightmare for anyone who is used to things like standby working half the time.
The Linux desktop is a pile of userland crapware piled into a trench coat, pretending to be a real desktop operating system.
Modern windows with unmatched UI elements of various generations, horrible DPI scaling and frankly antiquated design elements is starting to look more like Linux than Linux.
It is trash in the exact same way that GIMP is trash compared to professional tools.
The quality just isn’t there, and the quality will never be there so long as design decisions are made by anything resembling a democracy.
The open source model works for code. It does not work for design, and open source developers somehow believe they are as good of a designer as they are a developer, and that has never been true for anyone, ever.
Asking that someone be forced to switch to Linux from Windows or Mac is akin to forcing them to use GIMP instead of Photoshop, and if that sounds like a perfectly fine thing to you, you are blind to some very important things. Being blind to those things is fine so long as you’re aware of that blindness.