From my UNIX user point of view, there is no distribution closer to the
UNIX philosophy than Arch Linux. Lightweight, simple and yet powerful,
this distribution serves the UNIX and GNU/Linux purposes better than any
other. No frills all around the kernel, no shiny and useless packages
upon installation, but a completely customisable environment, with clean
and pure UNIX software interfaces available. When you boot an Arch
system and get this little login prompt on screen, it does feels like
nothing is impossible, like you can do literally everything with this
piece of software.
I have been a Debian/Ubuntu user for quite a few years, and even though
these are perfect to discover Linux, there is nothing quite like Arch to
actually realise what "Linux" is meant to be. Moreover, the GNU/Linux
projects were meant to be matters of community, designed for (keen)
computer scientists, and not for economics. Arch wouldn't be what it is
today if it was maintained by a little group, or by a corporation. Arch
pleases all of us because it is us that define it, and nothing should
change this. As far as I am concerned, I joined the mailing list
recently, and I am glad to see that the community is available, reactive
and constantly thinking about available improvements. I chose Arch Linux
for its philosophy, and those are the reasons why I'm still using it.
To me, that's how Arch has evolved, and how it should keep evolving,
A great 2014 to Arch, and to you all, who made it what it is today.
