Arch Linux. What makes it different from the other distributions? Why is there some weird elitism paralleled by disgust around it?
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Pros:
* Although the command line installation seems daunting, it is pretty simple once you follow tutorials or the documentation.
* Ability to select what package you want to install at a level no conventional distro provides.
* A barebones working installation of KDE Plasma Desktop Environment on arch consumes about 315 MB of RAM in my 4GB RAM old desktop. A Ubuntu KDE installation consumes about 660 MB of RAM in the same machine for comparison.
* Since it is a rolling release distribution, you don’t need to wait for major updates. It always keeps happening.
* I like trying out latest versions of applications. I’m using Linux, why not try the latest versions of the apps to know what’s going on! Arch enables me to use the latest versions of all applications without the need of waiting for a major update.
* The Arch user repository contains all the applications you could want to install in a Linux environment. The positive of having the latest version available in the distro itself is that the performance of the application is much better than the version available via snaps/flatpak and simply opens faster and operates faster to my eyes.
Cons:
* If you do not update your applications for a long time, and then check for updates, there is a high chance of breakage. In my teenage years, I used to fix these issues by searching for similar issues in the forums or via documentation. At some point, these are not worth your effort. Now that I have a job, I cannot continue to use this distro.
* Manjaro brings a lot of the benefits of Arch in a friendly way. People might want to try other easy to use distros like Solus for having latest applications.
* People are not usually helpful in the forums. They are unforgiving to newcomers. Your best bet is to ask a youtuber in a comments section. You will get better replies in youtube comments section that will help you than a complicated list of commands without context in arch forums.
* Installing Arch is easy, using it for a long time is difficult. It requires some maintenance that requires time and effort many people would not want to give in. “BTW I use Arch” is a weird meme that people use to flex that they are technically superior and have better understanding of computers than normies. I have split opinion on this. While Arch installation and maintenance teaches you about what packages are actually used to run the desktop environment, the lock screen,etc., you are not actually going places with this knowledge unless you are a sysadmin. You are better off learning Kotlin/Flutter in Windows or Mac and be technically superior to someone who knows only to install obscure applications.
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