I think Debian is great for servers but for desktop use for casual/new Linux users it’s not the best, IMO. The install ISO can lack drivers (one with non-free drivers is available but hard to find), the installer is not great (although I heard it’s gotten better since I last tried), non-free packages are not in the repos, packages are stable but that can also be out of date. It is vanilla but I don’t think it’s the best UX.

I think Debian derivatives are easier to sell like Mint, PopOS, maybe Ubuntu (yeah, yeah snaps/malware/etc.). If they’re a bit on the techy side maybe EndeavorOS just because Arch Wiki and AUR are pretty sweet. If they’re 13 and wear hoodies Kali ;P

But it all depends on the use case right. If I set up a laptop for my Mom and she only surfs the Web and uses a word processor and it just needs to be reliable and not break on updates, I think Debian is great for that. But for someone that wants to explore a bit or has to install it themselves I think there’s better options.

Also I feel that ‘help my Debian is having $issue’ vs ‘help my Mint/PopOS/Ubuntu is having $issue’ is going to bring up different styles of answers. Debian forums or articles may expect a level of competence that is not expected for distros often recommended to beginners.