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I smell elitism….

Now they put some glorified GUI or installation scheme on top of debian

If it’s 'just' a glorified GUI that doesn't really require any significant work, why doesn't Debian implement it? It’s ‘just a GUI’ after all...

Tell me what contribution these new distros(ubuntu, knoppix, mepis...) have made as far as developing architecture, filesystems, installers, etc etc of a linux system??

As you can see, most people seem to value the contribution made by distros like Ubuntu more than stuff you listed above. Doesn't that tell you something about why people are choosing Ubuntu both as a distro and a base system for further development?

mepis is really great distro but changing base to Ubuntu(which is debian anyway) doesn't make it any superior. in fact it shows incapabilities of Mepis founder Warren to take on the world on his own.

What do you mean he is not capable to take the world on his own? What are you talking about? And if Ubuntu "is debian anyway," why do you care what MEPIS uses as a base?

Seriously man, you need to stop being so uptight about your precious debian. "Be a man” and compile everything yourself, use only CLI applications and design your system to break X on purpose. No one cares how big of a debian pro you are and it certainly doesn't add any value to your argument. Let people use what they find suits them most and while you keep on compiling...

P.S. I am not even an Ubuntu fan, on the contrary, I am not particularly fond of Ubuntu and some aspects of the Linux world in general.

Well, as far as the installation gui is concernced, the current Debian installer requires a minimum of resources to run, which makes it accessible on many systems. Compare that to Anaconda or the like. Anywas, Debian is slowly working on a gui installer for future releases.

Elitism when talking about GNU/Linux distros? Never!!!

I smell it too. and it stinks.

Not every distro should feel the need to re-invent the wheel as a basis for starting up. Some distros are very active in the developing community and that is great. But other distros seek to take the the huge mass (or mess) of gnu software out there and present it in a form more usuable by the common mass of computer users out there. There's nothing wrong with that; on the contrary, it's a goal that, judging from the popularity of distros like Mepis and Ubuntu, has been lacking in the linux world of late.

Quite why you have been modded up to five is baffling.

I also use pure Debian, and am typing this on it. Debian is an entire system, as you say, but it is not perfect and it does not aim to produce an up-to-the-minute distribution for desktop users. This is where Ubuntu, Mepis et al come in and have made such a valuable contribution to Linux generally. They are quick and simple to install, honed to be a lot more stable than Debian Sid and they contain very new software - all wrapped up in a way that is fairly easy for the new user. Ubuntu's hardware detection (Dapper) is also outstanding, imho.

Debian is none of those things because it doesn't aim to be. It has different goals which it meets very well. Personally I think that if someone perseveres they'll find Debian more satisfying that the derivatives, but that is simply not an option for a lot of folks.

This is one contribution the Debian-based distros have made. A second one, as mentioned elsewhere, is the extensive patching done by Ubuntu which is intended to be shared around Debian generally. A third contribution is that Knoppix kicked off the whole live CD thing. Add those three together, and the contribution is massive. Just my 2 cents.

I think debian is a great system (more than a distro), but, as all distro around, needs a more consistant documentation for a developer to pick up and contribute, and not for only some kind of experts