I disagree that they are a "great experience" for users.
Here's my experience with PPAs:
1. Is it already in the Ubuntu / Debian repositories? Nope.
2. Search google for "Ubuntu <package name>".
3. Find some random website like some stack exchange question that tells me what couple of commands to run to get it into my repositories, or risk trying to navigate this disaster of a site.[1]
4. Finally, install the package!
On the other end of the spectrum, (this may be unfair and biased because this is what I"m familiar with), on Arch Linux, to get community maintained packages:
1. yaourt <package name>
2. hit corresponding number
3. answer prompts. (This step gives me the opportunity to analyze the build scripts if I so choose, which includes the source location.)
Edit: Actually that's not really a fair comparison. I forgot that Arch does not come with yaourt preinstalled. I would have the same complaints about downloading the tarball, unzipping, makepkg, and installing the package on Arch, so take my complaints with a grain of salt. I'm sure it's a good experience with a similar tool on Ubuntu.
