Elyse Betters Picaro / ZDNET Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google. ZDNET's key takeaways If you need help with Linux, try these outlets. You might not get an answer immediately, but one will come. These are all free to join and enjoy (just watch out for trolls). Linux is about community, and it has been for a very long time. Without community, I'm not sure if Linux would be where it is today. When I first started using Linux in the late 90s, I turned to old-school solutions (such as bulletin boards) and found all the help I needed. Also: The easiest way to try out Ubuntu Linux Seriously, without those communities, I wouldn't be here writing this so you could find the help you need. On the occasional instance when I need to find a solution to a problem, I generally turn to one of three things: Forums, social media groups, and mailing lists. The only reason I place mailing lists last is that the answers aren't always as immediate as I need. The good thing about mailing lists, however, is that you don't have to wade through all the spam or dig through different sub-forums to find what you're looking for. Forums As I said earlier, forums are my go-to. Why? One of the biggest reasons is that you can almost always find a forum for your specific distribution, desktop environment, or even general forums. Forums are a great place not only to find help, but also to make connections with other users, developers, and distribution or environment maintainers. Keep in mind that every forum has its own rules, but generally speaking, be courteous, polite, and stay on topic. If you're using a specific distribution and you run into problems, find that distribution's dedicated forum and join. If you have general Linux questions, there are forums for that as well. Also: The 6 Linux distros I recommend most for gaming in 2025: including my favorite Here are some of my favorite Linux forums that are sure to give you the help you need. Social media groups Social media isn't going anywhere, so we may as well embrace it. Also: While Windows 10 users panic, Ubuntu makes extending support easy: here's how I'm not going to list sites like Bluesky (or that other, similar one) because there aren't really groups, only hashtags. That being said, there are plenty of social media groups dedicated to Linux topics, and here are some of my favorites. Mailing lists At one point, I was a member of nearly every distribution mailing list on the planet. Eventually, I had to cut back to only those mailing lists that pertained to the distribution I was using (or the distribution that my distribution was based on). Not every distribution has a mailing list (such as Linux Mint and GNOME), but those that do are still fairly active. Also: 6 most Windows-like Linux distros because old habits die hard If you don't mind waiting to get the answers to your questions, mailing lists are a great option. Just remember not to "bottom post."