I'm building a home server to learn Linux, self-host some privacy-focused services, and backup storage. I'm not doing any major gaming or streaming.
Hardware: Dell Optiplex 7040, i5 processor, 16GB RAM, and a 500 GB SSD.
Previously, I'd been running a mini PC with Lubuntu, but the device bricked with a recent release update. So I'm trying to do things the right way now.
What OS would be a good starting point? I've heard Debian is mostly for experts.