we need to be better than them

Wrong, Linux need marketing. If we weren’t doing it right then Linux wouldn’t be the most important distro on all world, even your router, car, smartphone antennas and most of the things u see when walking on street uses Linux. If you are saying the problem are those that doesn’t know how to search or use a computer, the problem is there, those people not learning correctly, as what you been saying “they don’t search for “beginner’s guide to (tool)”, let a lone a professional to teach them, they search for “vague terms describing what I want to do in non-technical terms”.”, this particular phrase can be applied objectively to the people and not the system, as it would happen on Windows if they were using it, right? (that’s why Windows users has more virus, it’s easier to write a blog to run a .exe to solve your problem and newbies will do it and get infected) So who needs to do it better? I don’t think the Linux community should do it better or anyone should tell them to do it better, if you think Linux community needs something, do it or help to do it, but don’t tell them “you should do it better” while is a system based on trust and contributions, and the biggest and most important system in this world.

There are many distros trying to make it easy for people, improving the “User experience”. I love KDE and as a user experience, I feel it’s the smartest and decent desktop environment that actually exists, Windows misses the features and speed of KDE (I can even access to my smartphone storage with Dolphin + KDE Connect), while with MacOS… MacOS lacks much more, you can’t even grid windows on corners, WTF…, and that’s a nice user experience? People got marketing and started to use it to learn how it works, MacOS is an awful system, GNOME is x100 times better.

Sorry for the late reply.