Since a while some blogs have identified Ubuntu Linux as a failed experiment in creating a Linux distribution. They describe a technical backward oriented ecosystem which is no longer fulfill the needs of programmers. Usually the prefered Linux distribution of choice is either Arch Linux or Fedora which are both located near to the upstream. But is this description of Ubuntu Linux right?
No, it's distorting the reality. The reality can be measured in the number of newly published books and the number of newly published academic papers. If we enter the term “Ubuntu Linux” into Google Scholar we will see, that the distribution is healthy and have become lots of new users in the last two years. Most of them are switching from Windows 10 to Ubuntu because they get a powerful shell and lots of programming language without any costs. In contrast, the number of books about Fedora and Arch Linux is lower than ever.
It's correct that the iso image itself, which is the binary file compiled for the x86 architecture, can be switched easily from Ubuntu to Fedora. That means, instead of downloading Ubuntu19.04.iso the enduser can use the wget tool for retrieving the fedora30.iso file. The Fedora one has more features, has the better package manager and gets security updates more quickly. But this is only a detail issue. The Ubuntu iso file works reasonable well and if somebody is a first time Linux user, it's the prefered choice. Because all the documentation were written for Ubuntu but not for Fedora Linux. The more interesting aspect of a Linux operating system isn't the binary file, but the community. And here is Ubuntu the leading platform. Most weblogs in the internet, the askubuntu project and the media coverage as well is focused on Ubuntu Linux. It's the mainstream Open Source operating system and Fedora is compared to Ubuntu a smaller project.
To understand this paradox it's important to introduce the term upstream. Upstream is the place in which the software is created. Which is the gnome sourcecode, the kernel drivers, the systemd scripts and the Libreoffice suite. The upstream is close to Fedora and Red Hat. They are providing the programmers, the servers and they make also the technical decisions about the future. For example, the Gnome3 project which has changed the look and feel of desktop Linux was started by Red Hat, not by Ubuntu. That means, Ubuntu is far away from the upstream, it's located near the enduser. The typical user of askubuntu is mainstream user, who has installed Ubuntu on his computer as a secondary operating system for testing out the steam client and to become familiar with programming. That means, most Ubuntu users are beginner programmers, they come with a little or no background in programming.
Exactly this is the reason why Ubuntu is the leading distribution. Because such users are the future. Most people in the world, have little or no programming skills. They are equal to the majority which is in pure numbers more than a billion users. The question is not how to convince 10 new users to try out Fedora and program an advanced application, but the task is to motivate 100k people to install Ubuntu and write a hello world script in Python. This will bring the Open Source movement forward, and this is what Ubuntu can do at it's best.
Linux depends on millions of Ubuntu users, how have only little programming skills. They are the programmers from tomorrow and they will make the decision which operating system they are using at work and in their freetime. If somebody boycotts the Ubuntu ecosystem he is against Linux overall. He doesn't want that Linux will become a success at the desktop.