why you choose ArchLinux?

Awebb · 2016-11-18 09:59:35

dreb wrote:

I chose Arch because of the kawaii desktops.

Brace yourself, we have a tsundere package management and a yandere community.

kicksled · 2016-11-20 11:18:39

I just recently made the jump over to Arch, as I found my previously preferred distro too bloated. I run on older hardware, so I want my stuff to be lean and mean.

I chose Arch because the Arch principles resonated with me. And, I wanted a distro that was easier to tailor to my needs from the start, without having to remove a bunch of unwanted software first.

sleepyoh · 2016-12-02 21:36:57

Since installing on both my ''new'' headless server and my desktop i have had actually 0 problems, my server ran for 34days before i wanted to ''try'' to reboot from a remote location, just too see so all the services worked, no problems at all, everything loaded up as configurated and expected, a bit nervous but everything worked like before reboot så happy days so far. I know this is no blog, but i just want to share the 'first time experience' and why i think this is really nice so far...

My desktop has grown, improved, configured a bunch of things at first, havent touched basically anything in weeks, just made some backups and made everything on my system easily restorable with backups in more places then you have fingers on one hand.

Though i have fucked up big-time with my laptop, and i absolutely killed my Arch-install, i arch-rooted with live-usb but managed to cause more damage then good.

To end my post, i want to say that my experience so far is more then iv'e expected and i have a strong feeling iv'e found a mate, Arch..

ElderSnake · 2016-12-03 01:26:07

Been an Arch user for years, but even when I've had to leave my desktop machine for a while (we're talking 6 months to a year in a couple of instances) it surprised me that I could come back, fully update Arch after such a long time and generally have very little issues. Of course you need to check out the Arch home page for any important upgrade news/notes, but that's standard Arch stuff anyway.

I've actually been running my current Arch install for about 3-4 years. The whole idea of Arch having lots of breakage or not being stable over a period of time is rather overstated IMO, if not complete bollocks. As long as you're savvy enough and don't fixing the odd thing or downgrading a bad package on occasion, the whole thing has a rare simplicity of maintenance and usage that makes it a very good long term OS. I've never had any reason to switch.

Texbrew · 2016-12-03 06:00:40

I'd love to tell the whole story. Instead, I'll stick to the OP's question.

Boredom & curiosity. I used Debian almost 5 years - still do - and 2 years ago, I installed Arch in a VM, borked it, wiped it, installed it again. Grew to love Arch for many reasons already covered by others.

Arch has taught me to read & heed. Keeps me on my toes, challenges me to keep learning. I have come to love Arch above all other distros, and I've tried a lot of them.

Unless life conspires to keep me away from a computer for a day, I use Arch every day. Now even more often than Debian, which I still use and love.

Arch Linux > learn it > use it > love it. Don't forget to > update it > maintain it.

Cheers!

ayekat · 2016-12-07 10:58:08

I chose Arch Linux because it was listed in some Linux/computer magazine that I found in an unused bathtub. I thought: "why not? let's try something new", and something along the way of "it's got a cool name". I also liked its extensive wiki, although initially (like many, I guess), for the wrong reasons¹.

I choose Arch Linux because I like its KISS approach, and its KIV ("keep it vanilla") approach, both possible because of to its rolling release nature (so I guess I have to like that, too²). It's an overall pleasant experience if you know what you want - and yet it doesn't leave out newcomers, as it provides all the tools and resources to learn the necessary things.
The AUR is an interesting experiment. Its value lies not in the amount of packages found in there (we can find PKGBUILDs all over the web, after all), but in the fact that it is a somewhat officially³ provided, "central" platform for gathering and sharing user packages, which benefits the quality of the packages (more eyes, more feedback).
The forums is lead excellently. Kudos at all the moderators who actually enforce the forum rules.

___
¹ I mistook it for documentation, rather than taking it for what it is: a wiki. A very useful one, might I say.
² I hope there is no logical fallacy in this statement.
³ The AUR is officially part of the Arch Linux infrastructure; the contained packages are not.

eschwartz · 2016-12-07 20:30:25

ayekat wrote:

The forums is lead excellently. Kudos at all the moderators who actually enforce the forum rules.

Good point. Rather refreshing, really, not only because of places where the rules aren't enforced, but also because of places where the rules are only enforced according to the changing whims and interpretations of the moderators (basically, when you disagree with them it turns out you coincidentally broke the rules).

Alad · 2016-12-07 22:39:51

I chose Arch Linux because it was listed in some Linux/computer magazine that I found in an unused bathtub.

This must be one the best reasons I've seen in this thread...

Last edited by Alad (2016-12-07 22:39:55)

ayekat · 2016-12-07 22:47:16

Eschwartz wrote:

[...] also because of places where the rules are only enforced according to the changing whims and interpretations of the moderators (basically, when you disagree with them it turns out you coincidentally broke the rules).

OK, so I assume I have just been fortunate enough so far to have evaded any conflicts here. My disagreements so far have been more with the devs, even if mostly marginally.

If I take a look at the forums of other distributions (especially the Arch Linux derivatives), I can't really take their mods seriously. I prefer having people who enforce rules (and maybe do some mistakes on the way, and occasionally make decisions that seem arbitrary), than having no rules at all.

--edit--

Alad wrote:

I chose Arch Linux because it was listed in some Linux/computer magazine that I found in an unused bathtub.
This must be one the best reasons I've seen in this thread...

I was working part-time in a comp/net-sec company where the office was originally just a flat, and the bathroom was used for the toilet only - so the bathtub (conveniently located next to the toilet seat) got filled with all kinds of Linux/network/security/computer stuff for reading. I think Arch Linux was listed in a "top ten alternatives for well-known software" article (e.g. Marble for Google Earch, Abiword for OpenOffice, etc.) - I can't remember for what exactly Arch Linux was the alternative, though.

Back on topic, there was actually another thing I really appreciated: /etc/rc.conf. Looking back, it was probably a good idea to split it up (and eventually replace it by systemd), but I appreciated it at the time (definitely a "chose").

Last edited by ayekat (2016-12-07 23:24:47)

dminca · 2017-03-26 11:48:36

I chose Arch because it's the most pristine OS. Other OS's come bloated with useless crapware...

I chose Arch because I like to control the installation process to the bone narrow.

I chose Arch because of the helpful community and detailed information provided both in the wiki and the Internet, as a whole.

WILL91 · 2017-08-14 13:35:34

Main reason would simply be curiosity, been a Linux user for years now mostly Ubuntu, mint ect..

I don't have the best hardware and i hate when an os/distro lags and isn't smooth if you no what i mean, but i have to say that Arch is hands down the best one iv used so far. It really is unlike any other distro out there, the level of knowledge you can learn is something else. Plus it runs amazing on my pc ( Core 2 duo 3.2GHz ) No matter what iv thrown at it so far it's handled very well.

-Will

Texbrew · 2017-08-14 19:17:31

WILL91, hopefully, yours is a 64 bit machine?

WILL91 · 2017-08-15 11:50:51

Texbrew wrote:

WILL91, hopefully, yours is a 64 bit machine?

It surely is, wouldn't be a need for 4GB of ram if it wasn't.

Texbrew · 2017-08-16 04:57:39

WILL91 wrote:

Texbrew wrote:
WILL91, hopefully, yours is a 64 bit machine?
It surely is, wouldn't be a need for 4GB of ram if it wasn't.

OK, I guess I missed that point somehow. The reason I asked about 64 bit is that Arch 32 bit support is ending. In fact, I have Arch on a 32 bit PC which will soon become non-upgradable. The Arch developers have announced the end of 32 bit support. I will have to see if the Arch community continues to support 32 bit, but that PC isn't a daily driver, just used occasionally, so I'm not worried about it.

Enjoy your Arch machine, and if it isn't Arch, consider fixing that.

How's the weather, and how's the Guiness?

Cheers!

tex

fsckd · 2017-08-16 11:42:26

Texbrew wrote:

WILL91 wrote:
Texbrew wrote:
WILL91, hopefully, yours is a 64 bit machine?
It surely is, wouldn't be a need for 4GB of ram if it wasn't.
OK, I guess I missed that point somehow. The reason I asked about 64 bit is that Arch 32 bit support is ending. In fact, I have Arch on a 32 bit PC which will soon become non-upgradable. The Arch developers have announced the end of 32 bit support. I will have to see if the Arch community continues to support 32 bit, but that PC isn't a daily driver, just used occasionally, so I'm not worried about it.

Texbrew, indeed the community stepped up: https://archlinux32.org/. They are making good progress and there are already people using it and helping with testing. A couple of Arch devs are giving them some assistance and there's good cooperation. And yes, the upgrade process from Arch Linux to Arch Linux 32 is fairly simple.

Of course, if you use Arch Linux 32 we can no longer give support. They have their own forums (I helped test registration early on).

Snorlax · 2017-08-18 09:15:09

AUR and the customability and the bleeding edge are the reason.

Texbrew · 2017-08-18 19:13:35

fsckd wrote:

Texbrew, indeed the community stepped up: https://archlinux32.org/. They are making good progress and there are already people using it and helping with testing. A couple of Arch devs are giving them some assistance and there's good cooperation. And yes, the upgrade process from Arch Linux to Arch Linux 32 is fairly simple.
Of course, if you use Arch Linux 32 we can no longer give support. They have their own forums (I helped test registration early on).

Hey, thanks, fsckd. I haven't kept up with the news on 32 bit, but I have bookmarked the Arch 32 page. When time permits, I'll dust off that old PC and revive it with the community supported distro. Woo Hoo!

tex

andjeng · 2017-08-20 05:36:13

Reinstalled arch after 2 years off of linux. Installed ubuntu first, but not really comfortable with apt and its environment.

adomas · 2017-08-20 14:33:09

I was Gentoo user, but every time compiling updates made me tired. Arch Linux fits me very well. It feels almost like Gentoo for me, just binary Arch Linux is <3

alrii14344 · 2018-01-09 04:32:20

Because I'm a big boy now.

Niteraleph · 2018-01-26 04:06:08

I value minimalism in certain areas. I didn't like Ubuntu's unity desktop and their bloatness and somebody recommended Manjaro as an "entry-distro" for Arch. So I installed Manjaro and used it as my second system for a while and enjoyed it, but I didn't like the fact that some software was preinstalled that I didn't know and didn't use (and it wasn't the core essential programs). Later had to use Ubuntu at work (this time with Mate and XFCE which I both value and like). But when my Ubuntu's Xorg broke, I didn't want to fix it, since I've been long planning to switch to arch so I did that, and after finding out that it's installation may be a little bit complicated and you have to learn stuff, but it's actually logical and not "random scripts and commands that somehow put together install the system" I found it entertaining. Later, I felt arch is built EXACTLY the way I want my desktop distro to be: minimalistic but potentially poweful. Fast, with a nice repository including AUR and an awesome wiki. So I started to actually like doing stuff myself and configuring and I am still today very happy and satisfied with Arch. I am interested in trying different distros, but honestly my main distro is certainly Arch

Lone_Wolf · 2018-01-26 11:45:21

I value minimalism in certain areas

I hope the lack of paragraphs is not due to that ?

Nice to hear from someone who appreciated our installation method.

Trilby · 2018-01-26 13:50:33

It's funny how habituation shapes perception. In contrast to the the arch philosophy and Niteraleph's view above, arch is far from minimalist in my view. It is an absolutely fully-featured powerhouse distro that stands out from the other big distros in that it hasn't (yet) entirely given-way to it's own bloat.

So why I still choose Arch, is the reason most mac users choose mac: It just works.

I'm not at all fond of the directions most linux distributions are moving. I find it unfortunate that arch does seem to be going with the flow of these changes, albeit at a much slower pace. It's superficially ironic (but handy for me) that the cutting edge rolling release distro is not buying into all the modern hype quite as fast as it's contemporaries - but the hype still does seep in.

Because of my dislike for the changes to the linux zeitgeist I've been tinkering with minix, bsds, and various other unix/unix-likes for a bit. I find much to like about many of these, but each of them lacks something that my more pragmatic side would find valuable (If only I could have wireless on minix!). While the popularity of linux is what I see currently dragging it down into modern harmful fads, it was also that popularity that ensured it has decent driver support for a good range of hardware.

So the end result is that on my tinkering computers, I have all sorts of OSs, but on my work computer, my server, or on anything I'd consider 'mission critical', I run arch. It's got all the features one would ever need like any other modern linux, but most of those features are readily controllable (unlike many other linuxes). In otherwords, it's far from minimal: it is just the most biddable of the beasts.

ewaller · 2018-01-26 17:01:32

Trilby, I don't recall your ever mentioning Gentoo. In all seriousness, I think you would like the concepts of use flags and eselect.

Trilby · 2018-01-26 19:22:54

I think I would like gentoo too - unfortunately, the only computer I have that is remotely close to powerful enough for compiling everything from source being practical is my work computer, and that's where I stay more conservative with arch.

I suppose I can always just let builds run overnight - which I may try. But a 2 core 4GB laptop just seems like it'd be a tight fit for building everything.

Arch Linux

#551 2016-11-18 09:59:35

Re: why you choose ArchLinux?

#552 2016-11-20 11:18:39

Re: why you choose ArchLinux?

#553 2016-12-02 21:36:57

Re: why you choose ArchLinux?

#554 2016-12-03 01:26:07

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#555 2016-12-03 06:00:40

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#556 2016-12-07 10:58:08

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#557 2016-12-07 20:30:25

Re: why you choose ArchLinux?

#558 2016-12-07 22:39:51

Re: why you choose ArchLinux?

#559 2016-12-07 22:47:16

Re: why you choose ArchLinux?

#560 2017-03-26 11:48:36

Re: why you choose ArchLinux?

#561 2017-08-14 13:35:34

Re: why you choose ArchLinux?

#562 2017-08-14 19:17:31

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#563 2017-08-15 11:50:51

Re: why you choose ArchLinux?

#564 2017-08-16 04:57:39

Re: why you choose ArchLinux?

#565 2017-08-16 11:42:26

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#566 2017-08-18 09:15:09

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#567 2017-08-18 19:13:35

Re: why you choose ArchLinux?

#568 2017-08-20 05:36:13

Re: why you choose ArchLinux?

#569 2017-08-20 14:33:09

Re: why you choose ArchLinux?

#570 2018-01-09 04:32:20

Re: why you choose ArchLinux?

#571 2018-01-26 04:06:08

Re: why you choose ArchLinux?

#572 2018-01-26 11:45:21

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#573 2018-01-26 13:50:33

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#574 2018-01-26 17:01:32

Re: why you choose ArchLinux?

#575 2018-01-26 19:22:54

Re: why you choose ArchLinux?

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