gonna kick the proverbial computer wizard nest and ask a foolish question, where should i start if i'm looking to casually get into #linux and I've only ever used windows and mac and am not a super user? (i vaguely know what the terminal is but i have no idea how to use it)

@thefriendlygoblin There are many options, and if you ask us Linux nerds, you're going to get many answers. So I will give you options, but then give the true answer:

Linux Mint with the Cinnamon Diesktop is really good.

ZorinOS is also very good, but offers more iso options than is needed and can be confusing. Choose the lite version first.

Xubuntu, a very stable, windows like version of Ubuntu.

The real answer: Start with one, and try many. You will find the best one of you eventually.

@thefriendlygoblin I've recently (~2y) had nontechnical friends and family try with Fedora and everything is going really smooth so far.
@thefriendlygoblin mint and pop!_os are the common recommendations, but i hear fedora is pretty user friendly nowadays too 
@ida
will definitely look into those distros, thank you!
@thefriendlygoblin like many other people have said start with mint. I tried a few others and it didn't stick until I tried mint. When it starts feeling limiting or you want to do things other distro can that it can't hop on to another one.
@vinen
i'll keep that in mind, thank you!
@thefriendlygoblin
1) Install VirtualBox. This allows you to install systems, play with them and break them in a safe environment.
2) Try out different desktop environments. KDE, Gnome, XFCE for start. Some distros provide only one (like ubuntu, and therefore there are other "distros" like kubuntu or xubuntu). openSUSE provides all of them and you can choose one during installation.
3) Find out what you like.
@etam
this feels super thorough, thank you so much!
Pop!_OS by System76

Imagine an OS for the software developer, maker and computer science professional who uses their computer as a tool to discover and create. Welcome to Pop!_OS.

@thefriendlygoblin I've experimented a little with pop os, but I've also seen elementary is around!
@adobo
excellent, adding that to my list of distros to experiment with, thank you!