# Why does Mabox Linux have such a small user base?
**URL:** https://forum.maboxlinux.org/t/why-does-mabox-linux-have-such-a-small-user-base/2588
**Category:** Development & Suggestions
**Created:** [September 13, 2026, 7:39pm UTC](https://forum.maboxlinux.org/t/why-does-mabox-linux-have-such-a-small-user-base/2588 "2026-09-13T19:39:47Z")
**Posts on this page:** 3
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@napcok](https://forum.maboxlinux.org/u/napcok)
#### Post date: [September 13, 2026, 7:39pm UTC](https://forum.maboxlinux.org/t/why-does-mabox-linux-have-such-a-small-user-base/2588/1 "2026-09-13T19:39:47Z")
An interesting question and discussion on Reddit.
https://embed.reddit.com/r/MaboxLinux/comments/1wd6sj5/why_does_mabox_linux_have_such_a_small_user_base/?embed=true&ref_source=embed&ref=share
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### Author:  [@M0nst3r](https://forum.maboxlinux.org/u/M0nst3r)
#### Post date: [September 13, 2026, 9:45pm UTC](https://forum.maboxlinux.org/t/why-does-mabox-linux-have-such-a-small-user-base/2588/2 "2026-09-13T21:45:30Z")
My humble opinion: Linux users don’t know about it. And also, the undeniable “fashion” of going with whatever is _hot_ at the moment.
As more Windows people try Linux in recent years the very first they see -or get recommended- are the well known ones like Mint, Ubuntu, etc. The recent influx of eye candy alternatives like Omarchy or Hyprland doesn’t help either.
Mind you, I was a happy XFCE user for many years, tried KDE, i3wm, bspwm and Hyprland. Openbox was a mere curiosity here and there… and then, several years ago, a new release of Mabox accidentally caught my eye in Distrowatch and here I am, even happier and feeling _at home_ every time I turn on my computer or visit the forum.
I wouldn’t change a thing about the most important parts of Mabox:
- Manjaro is well established and stable. The likes of Arch throw updates _every single day_ and even if they don’t break it becomes tiresome.
- Openbox sits in the very frontier between Windows Managers and full fledged Desktop Environments, meaning it’s light, versatile and fast.
- No one (and this is not a cheap praise), **no one else** , put this amount of effort and care in order to make Openbox and Tint2 friendly, beautiful, approachable and customizable as you did. The good fellas in our community also deserve a huge hat off.
Current improvements and future editions based on Labwc and Noctalia will make Mabox even better. You did, and still do, a magnificent job; don’t doubt it for a single second. 😎
Kind regards.
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### Author:  [@klein66](https://forum.maboxlinux.org/u/klein66)
#### Post date: [September 21, 2026, 2:49pm UTC](https://forum.maboxlinux.org/t/why-does-mabox-linux-have-such-a-small-user-base/2588/3 "2026-09-21T14:49:53Z")
my two cents.
the people that like openbox is minimalist, old school people.
i have installed mabox several times, and for me it is a little heavy.
my test machines are 2008 core2 4gb of ram laptops. hp and acer.
i can tell, you have put in a lot of work in mabox, sometimes less is more.
linux should be plug and play, what i mean is modular and that isn’t what it is becoming.