The reasons given seem to be common sense.
Xfce is the default one in MX Linux, which is #1 entry on distrowatch for years, I don’t know how many install there is of MX, but I’m using it for years, I like Xfce, it’s simple, it works
If I remember correctly, clicking distro links on Distrowatch causes Distrowatch to increase its ranking of that distro, so it’s theoretically possible that MX Linux is only at the top because people who don’t use it and haven’t heard of it think “wtf is MX Linux?”, click the link and push its rank ever higher.
Urban Dictionary (not Linux related nor particularly SFW, but bear with me) had a similar problem with their table of “popular definitions” links. (They eventually took them off the site.)
If memory serves (for a second time), some of the links went to non-existent definitions, but those links looked like the only way to reach those definitions, so people clicked them, increasing their popularity and keeping them in the list. Along comes another visitor, “oh what’s this”, repeat ad nauseam.
Nice read, and much more interesting than mainstream articles with titles like “Linux has 5 % market share now”.
love this kind of brain dumps
This was a cool read. Thanks for sharing :) I’ve been an XFCE user since 2002 & can confirm that as a longtime user I’ve never really encountered anything other than a few small problems…
