Archlinux gets more popular? (Distrowatch)

cyprinus · 2007-06-18 11:34:12

I follow distrowatch.com for some time and almost every day Arch gets more H.P.D. (never less) - today 393 hits and 21 rank. I'm curious is it good to have well known distro or just a small one? What are your opinions?

Last edited by cyprinus (2007-06-18 11:34:49)

lucke · 2007-06-18 11:42:37

There have been some topics discussing that already, just search the forum for distrowatch.

Last edited by lucke (2007-06-18 11:43:19)

chaosgeisterchen · 2007-06-18 12:23:22

Apart from the fact that Distrowatch hit rankings are distorted by a number of factors and irrepresentative in most ways.

hussam · 2007-06-18 14:07:01

I think distrowatch rankings are not 100% accurate but they do represent more or less an average of how much a distribution during a 6 months period. It's only distorted because popularity isn't directly related to the size of the user base.

KerowynM · 2007-06-18 16:00:34

I assume our results are skewed also by the fact that it counts hits. There is less need to look things up with arch, things just work. Compare that to other distros where you need to hit their docs a hundred times a day.

I think arch is just popular enough. It means most people try other distros before they come here, so when they do they appreciate it more.

kth5 · 2007-06-18 18:55:25

What's interesting though that this [1] could boost Arch even more. It's on 6th place on the list for the last 7 days. Even before Xubuntu, Mandriva and OpenSuSE on the cd list...

[1] http://distrowatch.com/kokoku/linuxcdor … distro=391

Last edited by kth5 (2007-06-18 18:57:26)

ataraxia · 2007-06-18 19:33:10

Posting links to that page is considered shilling by Ladislav, especially in someplace like a forum. If he sees this referer in his logs he will probably reset Arch's count and possibly accuse us of dishonesty in next week's newsletter.

beissemj · 2007-06-19 05:05:12

KerowynM wrote:

I assume our results are skewed also by the fact that it counts hits. There is less need to look things up with arch, things just work. Compare that to other distros where you need to hit their docs a hundred times a day.

Well that can't be the only thing they base it off of, otherwise Gentoo would be #1, and we know that's not true

Leigh · 2007-06-19 06:10:29

Compared to 2004 when I first installed arch, It's popularity has skyrocketed. After first installing, I remember thinking how cool it was and how odd that it wasn't more popular. I think, because arch, even though it's simple, it takes some linux knowledge to configure, will never be as popular as maybe some of the major distros that make it so easy for windows users to explore with little or no knowledge of linux. I kind of like the fact that most people using arch are interested enough in linux to actually learn what makes things tic. It makes for a more pleasant enviornment in the forums while helping each other, vs alot of people who want a linux alternative to windows without wanting or having to know anything more about thier computer than they did while running windows. It's always nice helping someone who really wants to know how to fix something rather than just having it fixed. Did that make sense?

Ugh, I spend so much time learning and reading Chinese, It's hard to get back into English mode!

Last edited by Leigh (2007-06-19 07:27:33)

beissemj · 2007-06-23 04:42:35

Personally I really like that fact that arch mostly works, but it does take a little skill to set up. It's not crazy hard to install, but it takes a few hours to get everything configuried just that way you like it. So if arch doesn't get a nice gui installer anytime soon, you won't see me complaining.

That also makes for cleaner forums, less noob questions (not that their is anything wrong with that, it's just that stereotypically they don't rtfm (man)), and a more helpful environment.

.:B:. · 2007-06-23 07:24:48

I can't help but thinking that Distrowatch is like the worst site ever to check how well a distro is doing. It's the ultimate site for noobs - everything laid out nice in figures, comparison tables (who has what, who hasn't)...

Of course Ladislav does a great job in maintaining the site, and i follow the package rss feed, but honestly, if you want to find an interesting distro, I don't think distrowatch is the right place.

dtw · 2007-06-23 08:11:09

Well, even if Distrowatch is for noobs I think it does a good job. Sure, it doesn't provide the perfect guide to choosing a distro but it gives you more information in one place than any other site I know. Distrowatch has probably done more for Linux than 90% of the derivative rehash distros it covers. I think that is pretty impressive.

eyolf · 2007-06-23 16:10:14

How about a distro chooser? There are a few around. This one seems fairly good - at least it suggested I try ArchLinux...:
http://www.zegeniestudios.net/ldc/index.php

ataraxia · 2007-06-24 01:24:23

DistroWatch is great for telling me about new distros and ones I've never heard of. I also greatly enjoy Ladislav's weekly newsletter (though one of his recent guest writers - I think the Kororaa project lead - is not a good reviewer).

Arch Linux

#1 2007-06-18 11:34:12

Archlinux gets more popular? (Distrowatch)

#2 2007-06-18 11:42:37

Re: Archlinux gets more popular? (Distrowatch)

#3 2007-06-18 12:23:22

Re: Archlinux gets more popular? (Distrowatch)

#4 2007-06-18 14:07:01

Re: Archlinux gets more popular? (Distrowatch)

#5 2007-06-18 16:00:34

Re: Archlinux gets more popular? (Distrowatch)

#6 2007-06-18 18:55:25

Re: Archlinux gets more popular? (Distrowatch)

#7 2007-06-18 19:33:10

Re: Archlinux gets more popular? (Distrowatch)

#8 2007-06-19 05:05:12

Re: Archlinux gets more popular? (Distrowatch)

#9 2007-06-19 06:10:29

Re: Archlinux gets more popular? (Distrowatch)

#10 2007-06-23 04:42:35

Re: Archlinux gets more popular? (Distrowatch)

#11 2007-06-23 07:24:48

Re: Archlinux gets more popular? (Distrowatch)

#12 2007-06-23 08:11:09

Re: Archlinux gets more popular? (Distrowatch)

#13 2007-06-23 16:10:14

Re: Archlinux gets more popular? (Distrowatch)

#14 2007-06-24 01:24:23

Re: Archlinux gets more popular? (Distrowatch)

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