There's nothing wrong with asking any question. Like they say, the only dumb question is the one not asked.
Further, if you feel it's a controversial question or an implied challenge; there are ways to raise that and indicate that your intent is not to incense, but rather to learn for justification purposes; or to learn things you may not know of.
For instance, it may be easy to say something like: "Linux doesn't seem to have a good spreadsheet application." Maybe because you've used one that came with a distribution, and you didn't like it much and it was way harder and less friendly than Excel. ... not that Excel is "friendly". But seriously, it may be that Word and Excel are so highly distributed that if you were to use the Linux equivalents, there may be several points of question and contention which you could have a lengthy discussion about ... in these forums.
I recall a very specific discussion which went on for a while about the Linux OpenOffice versus MSWord, here it is
I am totally new to linux ultimate 3.2 tired of windows and hackers, popups, etc. The thread originator stated that they write novels and they wanted to know how to install and run Office under Linux. Well, they could if they use WINE, but many of us touted the existing Linux editing tools. It was a very involved discussion and I learned stuff from it myself.
So, your question here is not a bad question. Start some new threads with your questions, be polite and indicate that you're just wondering what the best choices are. It may start some very divisive discussion, but probably not directed at you and if discussion is highly divisive then it means the topic is not very simple either.
You'll get answers to your questions, and (as the case may be ...) either confirmation of or a rebuttal of your "doubts."
