I have a special spot that gets extremely annoyed when I feel I have to spend a necessary time just figuring out what something is. The page suffers from "developer-brain" marketing, where they describe the technology used to build it (cloud-native images) rather than what the product actually is. Why not just lead with that it is a Linux distro/version focused on gaming. In the beginning, I thought it was new hardware, then I actually thought it was a streaming service. the website does a poor job of simply stating what it actually is. Then again, I might be stupid, but the problem is that a lot of people are stupid. And I guess many non-developers are going to have a hard time just figuring out what the hell this thing is. I’m probably being too cranky now, but the page reads like a combination of the worst from developers-speak combined with the rest of marketing-speak.
"The next generation of Linux gaming - Bazzite makes gaming and everyday use smoother and simpler across desktop PCs, handhelds, tablets, and home theater PCs."
Are we reading the same website?
That could apply to everything from some sort of software service, to a game installer, to a streaming service, to an App Store for cross-platform games. You have to take into account the chaos that is the Internet and the promotional material shit storm of marketing speak. A sentence extremely close to this could easily be found on the top of the Razer Synapse promotional page. Why not lead with a simple description that uniquely describes what THIS is? I work in both development and psychology, and it’s frustrating when tech people make fun of others for not understanding their jargon, but those same people get extremely annoyed when they don’t understand anything outside their area because other fields use unnecessarily indirect and convoluted language. Why don’t we just help each other out and try not to create unnecessary cognitive load, just to understand what something is? It is actually possible without dumping down, it’s just a little framing that is needed.
The first text on the page says:
> The operating system for the next generation of gamers
If you're trying to argue that this snippet should answer the question of "what is Bazzite"... have you looked at marketing-speke websites lately? Think of how many different categories of service / product / platform / technology call themselves "the operating system for the next generation of XYZ".
+1 to jtrn's complaint here; when Bazzite's homepage doesn't own up and immediately say "Bazzite is a Linux distribution", it's being unnecessarily unclear, and it loses my trust.
This was a very recent change. Just yesterday the same line read "The next generation of Linux gaming". So it's good someone is taking feedback!
Now it does. It didn't when the original comment was made.
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Paragraphs, my dude.
His comment isn't exactly a wall of text, it's perfectly fine as it is.
I'm reading it on my computer, and it's perfectly fine; yet, how would it look like on a smartphone?
I shrunk my window's width and it still looked fine.
<p> here you go.
I believe you are. Or we are. The quoted line tells me nothing. Is it a new game engine? Or something like winetricks to tune wine, maybe more streamlined? Or is it a some kind of app store? App launcher?
It is the site made like a presentation, in my experience they are all suck and like a real presentation are impossible to comprehend without accompanying speech.
It does say very clearly on top of the page that it is an "operating system", what is so unclear about it?
If you want to know more, just scroll down and read more detailed explanation
Not sure in what way some people expect to be fed the information. If you did not understand what it is from the first couple of sentences then maybe it is not for you.
They JUST changed it (probably reading the HN feedback). Now the title on tip reads "The operating system for the next generation of gamers" while just yesterday it was simply "The next generation of Linux gaming".
The change is for the better, but I would still like to have words like "Linux" and "distro/distribution/pack" be used.
I agree with the author. Is that an OS image you put on a machine to make it a game box? Or is it a piece of software you put on your existing Linux? Or a framework for game developers? Not clear.
How about "the operating system for the next generation of gamers" replacing the first line?
Yes, would be a major upgrade
Then let us understand will it be a separate PC (or mini computer) solely for gaming, or is it still some familiar OS that can be used for other purposes too? Arch? Debian?
Awesome, I'll probably workshop it a touch but I appreciate the input.
Now the title on tip reads "The operating system for the next generation of gamers" while just yesterday it was simply "The next generation of Linux gaming".
The change is for the better, but I would still like to have words like "Linux" and "distro/distribution/pack" be seen somewhere soon after the visitor loads the page.
Gaming on Linux: The Final Frontier. These are the voyages of the Linux distribution, Bazzite. Its continuing mission, to support all computer games. To seek out new gamers and new platforms. To boldly go where no distro has gone before!We don't consider ourselves a distribution and linux is mentioned all over the rest of the page.
It said Linux before but apparently that wasn't clear that it's an operating system, less is more sometimes.
The current version is clearly better than the old one, that's for sure.
Since you are receptive to feedback, I will give my marketer/PR-professional's opinion that hopefully you put in use.
I recommend checking out the "Don't make me think twice. A common sense approach to web usability" book by Steve Krug. It's an old book, but most of the advice is common sense and still applies. I especially want to point out the "Chapter 7. The Big Bang Theory of Web Design".
The basic idea is that: 1. the information you want to tell visitors has priority. You should make a list of all (everything, not only the things that are currently visible) the things you would want to communicate to visitors and rate it ("Linux" before "gaming" before "smoother, simpler" before "next generation", etc). 2. The home page is the most important page. The visible first-view of the home page is the most real estate. 3. The home page and first-view content should be organized according to the priority list. The longer the visitor stays on the page, the more of the more important stuff he should see. The progression should be logical; the 10th item should not come before item-5. All the important things should be read in 5s and the rest of the important things should optimally be read without scrolling at all.
The organization of your website is currently extremely suboptimal. The first view of the main page has hardly any information, even on 1440p screen. The problem lies in both: 1. amount of total information. So much wasted space, instead of engaging/revealing text and compelling/informative images. 2. the importance/uselessness of such information. E.g. "for the next generation of" - what does it even mean? What purpose does it serve? Why is it there? Couldn't valuable space be used better? For sure it can.
Compare the first view of your website with products: https://rubyonrails.org https://www.hey.com https://basecamp.com Most of the examples are by the same people/company because they mastered the art.
Or with other distros: https://www.linuxmint.com https://omarchy.org https://tails.net https://www.parrotsec.org https://manjaro.org
You don't need to scroll at all in order to see what the page is about and what are the distros' USP (Unique Selling Proposition). - "Linux Mint 22.2. The latest version of the friendly operating system is here. Linux Mint is an operating system for desktop and laptop computers. It is designed to work 'out of the box' and comes fully equipped with the apps most people need." - "Omarchy. Beautiful, Modern & Opinionated Linux by DHH" - "Tails is a portable operating system that protects against surveillance and censorship." - "ParrotSec. The ultimate framework for your Cyber Security operations." - "Manjaro Linux Empowering People and Organizations. Taking the raw power and flexibility of Arch Linux and making it more accessible for a greater audience."
Not all the first-views of distro pages are as good as they could be, but they are way above what Bazzite displays. To be clear: the content of the main page as a whole is fine, it gives the necessary information and is quite well organized. It is only the first-view side is what I have problems with; it is not worthy of the rest of the page.
Before you respond, also check the "The Top Four Plausible Excuses for not Spelling Out the Big Picture on the Home Page" in the same Chapter7. :-)
It does not matter what you want to call Bazzite. It only matters what words people (your visitors, your potential "clients") know and have associations with. I haven't seen you complain when you are featured in the "Best Linux distros for gamers" lists. :-) And that's how it should be. Don't fight the society, go with the current.
Please check DHH (Ruby on Rails, Omarchy) interview about distros: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCcTSAhvj-s (from 22:30-33:35)
Communication is about clear positioning through clarity, not about muddling through obfuscation.
Your website has a good core (base under the first-view), but the first-view needs A LOT of work. Just a little effort would go a long way. Let me try to make quick changes to the first-view: 1. Add tag line at the top. Part of the logo, instead of "Become a Supporter" (this is not a correct place to ask for that)?. If not in logo, then separately to the right/bottom of it. What kind of tag line? E.g. "Gaming in Linux? Easy-Bazzizy!". Sounds corny, but it works. Honestly! This is something I came up with in under 1 minute, but even this is better than not having anything. 2. Make site og title/description something useful/searchable/identifiable. 3. Get rid of "load/show/animate pics only after scrolling". This is highly irritating for people who want to quickly find out about Bazzite. 4. Change "The operating system for the next generation of gamers" to "The operating system for X gamers". X stands for 1 or even better 3 (3 word rule) words like: serious, no-nonsense, busy, dedicated, passionate. 5. Change "Bazzite makes gaming and everyday use smoother and simpler across desktop PCs, handhelds, tablets, and home theater PCs." to "Linux distribution made safe, easy and efficient. Focus on games and gamers. On desktop PCs, handhelds, tablets, and home theater PCs." 6. On the right make list of main USP ("Play your favorite games", "Take your game library anywhere", "Upgrade and rollback fearlessly", "Secure by default", "Hardware compatibility out of the box", "Supporting Handheld PC and couch gaming setups", "Run your favorite containers") with headers that jump to appropriate parts of the main page. 7. Make a list of usual complaints/opinions of OS switchers, so visitors could associate and see themselves switching. In form of questions: "Are you tired of watching ads in your OS?", "Do you enjoy all the AI Microsoft is trying to push down your throat?", "Want an Operating System working for you, instead of against you?", "Tired of unnecessary hassle and slowness of OS and simply want to live and play?", "Don't want to be a slave anymore?", "Desire to be treated as an adult instead of a child?", "Make play, not fray?", "Linux-curious, but afraid?", "Want an easy and safe way to play on Linux?". You can come up with a lot of stuff that resonates with visitors, who are thinking of switching OSs (imo you should mainly target switchers from Mac/Win instead of linux distro hoppers). These questions can be rotating, adding animation/liveness to the first-view. Make clickable to take to Testimonials. 8. Add some small images/screenshots as well.
One can always argue with the specific details, but I think I managed to demonstrate the overall point of these changes making the website and the experience of visitors much better.
I hope you will put my friendly feedback to use. Best wishes.
Here's a thought experiment. What hypothetical piece of technology am I describing?
> Next generation of construction - gezzite makes construction smoother and simpler across various commercial and residential projects.
The problem with your thought experiment is intentional obfuscation - where is the Linux equivalent?
"Next generation of construction bricks" is already obvious
Well, "next generation of Linux gaming" is not specific. "Next generation of Linux operating system" would be specific.
My thoughts exactly, linux gaming really doesn't tell me much, beyond that I might be able to use it if I was using Linux. Could be some controller or a Proton-something for all I can tell reading the phrase.
How about this:
> Next generation of construction cranes - gezzite makes construction smoother and simpler across various commercial and residential projects.
Too much noun, needs to be vaguer.
How about "next generation of Nordic construction".
Still too specific.
How about "next generation of sheltering" or "next generation of the essential element in the hierarchy of needs"?
Did they change the website in the last hour? It now says "The operating system for the next generation of gamers".
Haha, yes! https://web.archive.org/web/20251130082805/https://bazzite.g...
Great victory.
But it's much worse now, they've lost the name of the OS!!!
Yes they did. Now the title on tip reads "The operating system for the next generation of gamers" while just yesterday it was simply "The next generation of Linux gaming".
The change is for the better, but I would still like to have words like "Linux" and "distro/distribution/pack" be visible somewhere on the first visible page.
Ah so it’s a usb C key that adds a Linux friendly GPU for which the drivers are in the kernel?
Or it’s some gaming smoothening software.
Hmm runs on tablets, so it’s an App then… that also runs on htpcs… hmmm…
So it’s some sort of an application you install on your PC to make game runs smoother?
And/or something like Moonlight/Remote Play?
That could describe a special "gaming-optimized" router.
That’s says nothing about what it actually is.
That's not "developer brain" but marketing speak! Lots of websites for technical products are like this - generalities galore. Usually the open source ones just say what they are.
No, marketing starts with the person being marketed to. Engineers thinking they are doing marketing state technical terms with colourful fonts.
Often the person being marketed to is an investor, not an actual user. "XYZ is what's next for [huge market]" may not sound like a product you can buy, but it does sound like something that can make lots of money.
this is what developers think marketing is
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It says on the main page: "The operating system for the next generation of gamers"
The one fault perhaps is saying "operating system" when it's a distro. Linux is the operating system
They JUST changed it (probably due to the HN feedback). Now the title on tip reads "The operating system for the next generation of gamers" while just yesterday it was simply "The next generation of Linux gaming".
The change is for the better, but I would still like to have words like "Linux" and "distro/distribution/pack" be used.
Linux is a kernel, it doesn't have a stable and rich enough set of userspace services to be considered an operating system on its own.
stupidity != ignorance
It literally begins with "The operating system for".
The page clearly states that it's an operating system. It's the very first words.
They've edited it due to HN.
I mean the sort of user you are describing sounds like they’d struggle with PC gaming in general.
