We need to get the word out about Arch

kcbanner · 2006-12-13 20:46:38

Hey all,

I've been an arch user for serveral months now...all my machines run it, and it is by far the best distro I have tried by far. Whenever I try to explain the awesomeness that is arch to somone they say "Wahhuh what is this A-r-c-h Linux?", then try tell me how --omg-optimized Gentoo is...but I digress.

What we need to do now is GET THE WORD OUT. We need to get large sites to review arch, we need people to write reviews and get them on Digg...submissions to Slashdot once we get a reputable site to review Arch. Its an awesome distro, and its a shame people are not using it, and making it better.

Of course this will lead to the usual influx of, for lack of a better word, "lusers" in #archlinux, but I'm sure that wont be a problem. With a larger community, the userbase will grow exponentially as people tell people, etc.

I think that we need to revamp the wiki slightly also...things are a little hard to find.

Thats my idea
-kcbanner

arooaroo · 2006-12-13 21:03:42

There have been reviews on OSNews and Newsforge, some of which have also been picked up at slashdot. I recall a couple of Linux magazines publishing articles too. So, I think it's had a reasonable amount of coverage.

That said, if it were bundled on a few magazine cover discs then that would certainly help.

phrakture · 2006-12-13 21:14:32

kcbanner wrote:

I think that we need to revamp the wiki slightly also...things are a little hard to find.

Ideas are great and all, but what we really need is effort:

http://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?t=26585
http://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?t=27360
http://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?t=27351
http://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?t=26755
http://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?t=26834
http://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?t=26773
http://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?t=26798

Feel free to pick up some of the work...

Also, I figure that when we release 0.8, it will gain interest too.

tlaloc · 2006-12-13 21:19:38

As far as I understand it, the Dev's position has always been: Let it grow naturally! Reviews are fine and welcome, of course - and I still play around with the idea of writing one myself. But it is not that important.

Arch grows every day, doesn't it? At least in the sense that we all learn a thing or two every day.

dtw · 2006-12-13 23:38:23

Yeah, what's the rush? I always wonder what evil maniacs planned to do after they had conquerored the unniverse!

brain0 · 2006-12-13 23:39:29

This is my personal opinion and not any official position of the Arch developer team.

kcbanner wrote:

What we need to do now is GET THE WORD OUT. We need to get large sites to review arch, we need people to write reviews and get them on Digg...submissions to Slashdot once we get a reputable site to review Arch. Its an awesome distro, and its a shame people are not using it, and making it better.

No, we don't. Let me explain why:

Users who
- look for a distribution that fits their needs
- know their way around Linux
- are willing and able to contribute in documentation, packaging (AUR and bugtracker), forums
- like Arch because they want things to work "The Arch way"
find Arch on their own. We are listed on Distrowatch, reviewed by some websites every now and then and well-known in the general Linux community. Every user looking for Arch has eventually found it. We have a solid user base that is growing and Arch attracts the kind of users it is targetted at.

On the other hand, if we "get the word out", as you phrase it, we will attract many users that are not our target audience. This will result in:
- OMFG this doesn't work, fix it
- OMFG help me, I cannot make this work
- I don't want to learn anything about Linux, please make Arch work for me
- Arch sucks, it wouldn't work for me

What we really need to do is improve packages, improve documentation, have a solid distribution that works for our current user base. As long as we do that, there will be new users joining us who really want Arch for what it is.

kcbanner · 2006-12-14 00:08:32

Yeah, now I see the problems that would arise from "getting the word out" about Arch. You are completely right brain0 about the OMFG thing...let them come naturally.

Thanks for setting me straight

yankees26 · 2006-12-14 01:31:57

I agree with not getting the word out too. So much so, I don't even remember how I came across (I think it might have been from perusing the "List of Linux Distributions" article on wikipedia) And like brain0 said, if they need a distro like Arch let them find Arch.

codemac · 2006-12-14 01:56:52

well, considering it took me 5-ish years to find Archlinux, I'd say getting the word out isn't such a bad idea. If we bring in noobs, oh well. They will be noobs and install another distro a week later anyways.

scarney · 2006-12-14 02:21:46

i think arch is doing just fine creating its own userbase. plenty of peeps know about it, and more come every day. i agree with most of what brain0 said.

this should be THE focus of everyone involved.. imho.

"What we really need to do is improve packages, improve documentation, have a solid distribution that works for our current user base. As long as we do that, there will be new users joining us who really want Arch for what it is."

good things find their users, just by being good.

T-Dawg · 2006-12-14 02:46:54

If arch becomes popular it only means good things. More people to report bugs, more people submitting patches, more developers and richer documentation and wikis. However the general attitude the archlinux community has is that it doesn't care about being popular. So, it will essentially remain stagnant and the same quality for as long as we maintain this attitude.

ralvez · 2006-12-14 03:38:59

I think that there is nothing wrong about promoting what Arch has to offer to those that have what it takes to get the benefit.

Now, notice that I've carefully chosen my words in the above sentence.
So long we make it clear who the target audience is we are fine.

I must add that I work as a web developer and I have hardly time to scratch my head when I find problems at work ( I'm a free-lancer) and lacking the time to contribute in any other way, which I would love to, I try to help people in the forms and I visit them daily. That is for now my humble contribution ... but I'm sure that I'm not alone in my desire to contribute in that fashion and if newbies come and they are willing to learn there would be enough people in these forums willing to assist.

Not that it 'bares any weight' but that's my opinion.

phrakture · 2006-12-14 04:08:41

T-Dawg wrote:

So, it will essentially remain stagnant and the same quality for as long as we maintain this attitude.

That's true only if the current users remain stagnant. It's not an altruism that "because X doesn't grow one way, it will not grow at all".

Purch · 2006-12-14 06:20:40

codemac wrote:

... If we bring in noobs, oh well. They will be noobs and install another distro a week later anyways.

Hehe, it took two weeks for my friend to change to kubuntu and he is a noob with linux. Actually, It was the university's linux staff that was "OMG what distro" when he needed help to setup the wlan at uni and then there was *buntu to choose from

Snarkout · 2006-12-14 13:55:47

codemac wrote:

well, considering it took me 5-ish years to find Archlinux, I'd say getting the word out isn't such a bad idea. If we bring in noobs, oh well. They will be noobs and install another distro a week later anyways.

Agreed. I had been hearing about arch for years before I installed it. I finally did because of a Dan Dennedy interview on the Linux Link Tech Show. I was simply convinced that it was going to be way too difficult to install/maintain, and while it certainly has its warts from time to time, its benefits far, far outweigh those warts.

The sad thins is that I had been looking for a distro like arch for at least a year before I finally installed it. TBH, the main hurdle for me was the install itself - trying to install from the 0.7.0 (IIRC) image was a PITA because of the udev migration and a few other complications. Once I got past that, though, things were pretty easy. I'm really glad I found arch, and think it's silly to assume that popularity will be the downfall of any distro.

Misfit138 · 2006-12-14 15:32:03

I am very inexperienced with Linux in general, and have been struggling to learn it for a few years on and off. Once I found Arch, I finally stopped struggling and started learning. My first attempt to install it took most of a weekend, and by Sunday afternoon, I was able to watch DVD's, burn CD's, watch streaming video, get all my mouse buttons working, shut down my machine using the power button, play Diablo II with wine, watch Flash, and dual boot to Windows on a seperate HD.
This is more than I was able to do with any of the more than 2 dozen distros I had tried before. Arch 'just works', and is designed excellently.
I, for one, will continue to mention it, because I believe in it very strongly, and I think the benefits of its popularity will far outweigh any disadvantages.

Anarion · 2006-12-15 01:57:50

Its about two weeks since I started using Arch and I will not change distro no matter what. I love Arch and will do what i can to help in development when I can. I went from Windows to Arch after trying ubuntu a few times via live-CD but then a friend suggested Arch and he helped me install it and now im studying linux almost 24/7 to learn as much as possible.

dtw · 2006-12-15 08:41:23

T-Dawg wrote:

If arch becomes popular it only means good things. More people to report bugs, more people submitting patches, more developers and richer documentation and wikis.

I'm not convinced there are even enough developers at the moment. I know Roman just got a job as a bug tracking type guy but bugs and patches need to be dealt with in a timely fashion otherwise they are just pointless. I think there must be some case for some floating developers to troubleshoot and generally be on hand for "stuff".

I think it is cool that the new devs like tomk, brain and obviously phrak, etc are still very engaged with the community, which was a big complaint of mine in the past, but as I see it for every new dev we gain their rightful self-interest accounts for 70% of the workload straight off. That's not wrong - I just wonder what the net gain is.

So, what I am saying is that, while having more devs generally and more pkgs in [extra] and [unstable] vs [community] is a good thing I wonder if it wouldn't make sense to recruit some devs without them carrying over a pkg set with them.

It's just an idea.

On a side note...

I wonder sometime as well if the notion that being a dev means you are privvy to all the big discussions and therefore have a "stake" in the future of Arch is getting a bit outdated. Responsiblity does not have to equal control.

Surely as Arch grows the dev group will become huge and at some point won't be able to function properly as the "steering group" that I understand it currently is. At that point a new tier will have to be added to Arch's heirarchy. I imagine that that tier exists in an informal way already.

sweiss · 2006-12-15 08:51:00

I've been using Arch for almost 3 years - Trust me, it has grown immensely since then.
There is an occasional OSNews review about Arch which brings some more people (I myself found out about Arch through such a review).
Seems to me that Arch is doing pretty well. Marketing shouldn't be the main concern, at least.

Howitzer · 2006-12-15 10:14:49

I think the word is out enough already..
Everytime someone asks for a distribution of which you have fully control + uptodate packages, 8/10 people suggest Gentoo or Arch, Arch being Gentoo without the compiling

brain0 · 2006-12-15 14:06:17

ralvez wrote:

I think that there is nothing wrong about promoting what Arch has to offer to those that have what it takes to get the benefit.
Now, notice that I've carefully chosen my words in the above sentence.
So long we make it clear who the target audience is we are fine.

I have to agree. I didn't choose my words carefully enough.

If we promote Archlinux, then people have to know that Archlinux is not "teh magical solution" to any problem. Using Arch requires some knowledge and work. I have convinced several people to use Arch, all of them experienced Linux users. I am very careful when I recommend Arch to the less experienced.

When I read kcbanner's "Get the word out" stuff, I had to think of Ubuntu. Ubuntu tries to be usable by everyone and promotes itself as a mainstream operating system, an operating system to replace Windows for an average user. That is what Arch is not and will never be.

Crooksey · 2006-12-15 15:21:23

I like the fact how people "discover" arch after using Linux for a while and really appreciate it.

Also people think its ancient due to the age of the iso's, they don't grasp the fact of an ongoing distro.

We could one day, get as many people as possible to click the arch Linux link on distrowatch, if it gets to the top ten, users will rush in.

Arch Linux

#1 2006-12-13 20:46:38

We need to get the word out about Arch

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