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So I installed Arch Linux... Is this it?

I’m a little bit underwhelmed, I thought that based off the fact so many people seem to make using this distro their personality I expected… well, more I guess?

Once the basic stuff is set-up, like wifi, a few basic packages, a desktop environment/window manager, and a bit of desktop environment and terminal customisation, then that’s it. Nothing special, just a Linux distribution with less default programs and occasionally having to look up how to install a hardware driver or something if you need to use bluetooth for the first time or something like that.

Am I missing something? How can I make using Arch Linux my personality when once it’s set up it’s just like any other computer?

What exactly is it that people obsess over? The desktop environment and terminal customisation? Setting up NetworkManager with nmcli? Using Vim to edit a .conf file?

Andrzej , (edited )

I’m trying out Arch on my laptop atm, and tbh the only real advantage (at least for me) is that the packages tend to be a lot fresher than on Debian-based distros. The question is how many of your packages you really need to be that fresh.

I think a lot of Arch users feel like wizards because they connected to the home wifi using the command line, but if you’ve tinkered with (/broken then had to fix lol) other distros, you will have done all this stuff before

floofloof ,

I find OpenSUSE Tumbleweed a good solution for up-to-date packages without slow install times or hours spent compiling and configuring things. It’s straightforward but current.

Presi300 ,
@Presi300@lemmy.world avatar

It’s a linux distro, just like all other linux distros… Idk what to tell ya

Confused_Emus ,

I mean if you want to be blasé about the fact not everyone has the same technical skills as you, sure…

GnuLinuxDude ,
@GnuLinuxDude@lemmy.ml avatar

I think arch peaked in its popularity in 2016 or so. It felt like an elitism thing was going on around that time that has 1. Faded off and 2. Been dispersed into other distros because as it turns out there are other good choices, too.

Besides. How are you going to become a rising influencer rehashing the same old takes as the prior generation of dorks? Can’t keep people coming with Arch is the greatest YouTube videos forever.

halm ,
@halm@leminal.space avatar

You must have missed the small print that says “Personality not included”. Linux is simple, individual character is hard.

Kerb ,
@Kerb@discuss.tchncs.de avatar

afiak the prase “i use arch btw” is mostly sarcasm,
instead of genuine appreciation.

its mocking the stereotype of arch users that constantly bring it up to sound smart or feel supperior.

think of arch like “vintage car culture” with a touch of minimalism.
its restricting and breaks all the time,
but thats kinda the point because fixing it becomes a part of your lifestyle.

nous ,

I use it precisely because it doesn’t break all the time and is less restricting… Don’t know where you got the idea it is not.

cupboard ,

I also feel like it "breaking all the time" was part of the stereotype itself. I stopped using Arch because it was stable for almost 3 years and part of the point of using it in the first place was learning Linux by fixing stuff that broke - except that stuff never broke so I grew bored of it.

bricklove ,

I tried it out because of the memes and stuck with it because there wasn’t a bunch of extra stuff I don’t need distracting me. I kinda forget I’m using arch btw

Thann ,
@Thann@lemmy.ml avatar

now start using it for a while and you will notice the difference!

you will see you have all of the latest versions of programs, that other distros wont have for 6 months!

you will learn that the AUR has every package you could ever want!

you will see that the Wiki has extremely comprehensive answers to every question!

Arfman ,

Uhh, I thought this was just a meme

BeigeAgenda ,
@BeigeAgenda@lemmy.ca avatar

You have reached the pinnacle of Linux, every other distro you try from now on will seem bland. 🧗🏼

astrsk ,
@astrsk@kbin.run avatar

I’ve been using Debian for many years now. The hardest part about switching my desktop to arch (partly to try something different, partly for later kernel / tools) was not that arch is difficult, but that I need to type ‘sudo pacman -S’ instead of ‘sudo apt install’ to install new packages. It is functionally the same in my day to day use which is fantastic.

Norodix ,

I also felt a little underwhelmed, I thought the installation would be more difficult.

If you are not in it for the memeing I find it to be a great distro.

vort3 ,
@vort3@lemmy.ml avatar

I think any person with ability to read and follow instruction can install arch in 15 minutes (excluding waiting for things to download), there is nothing special about it.

What_Religion_R_They ,
@What_Religion_R_They@hexbear.net avatar

When I went in I had very specific expectations and Arch lived up to them. Had an idea of what I wanted for a DM, and an idea of what I wanted out of an operating system, and it met my needs. I would still be using it like that except for the fact that I had to change it out to be able to run the proprietary software for my university, and I just never bothered to reinstall/reconfig it. If I were to do it again, I would make some script to set it up with all my necessary programs so that it is robust.

ShaunaTheDead ,

You should go for a distro that matches what you want out of your system. You want stable? Find some strong LTS distro like Ubuntu. You want ULTRA STABLE? Go for an immutable distro. Do you want to use your system for gaming? Go for a distro with wide gaming support, built-in drivers with options for proprietary drivers.

It's less about what base distro you're using and more about what you like about that particular flavor of distro.

For example, I use my PC for gaming mostly, but also coding. I switched from Pop! (Ubuntu based) to Garuda (Arch based) and I love it because it's really good for gaming, comes with Mangohud, Gamemode, Steam, Heroic, controller drivers, graphics drivers, etc, all optionally pre-installed. I also really like KDE apps because they're performant and slick so I got the Plasma version.

Anyway, yeah, focus less on "this distro is Arch based" and more on what each distro can provide you as far as your personal tastes.

sovietknuckles ,
@sovietknuckles@hexbear.net avatar

Am I missing something? How can I make using Arch Linux my personality when once it’s set up it’s just like any other computer?

IMO there’s nothing about Arch, or any other distro, that makes it worth using, beyond whatever goals you have. If Arch helps you accomplish that goals, great. If not, pick a different distro that does.

In my case, I want to use the latest version of software and use my own configs without inadvertently breaking stuff, based on some arbitrary set of assumptions that distros like Ubuntu or Fedora have made about how their own distro should be used, and Arch has been the easiest way to do that for me.

Also, as others have said, AUR and PKGBUILDs

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