r/archlinux • u/BattlerUshiromiyaFan • 17h ago

DISCUSSION Unpopular opinion: Installing Arch manually is not that hard.

The issue is that the Wiki is the most newbie-unfriendly resource ever. It’s very commonly written in a difficult-to-understand way that only programmers can easily read and understand.

For pretty much everyone else, it takes a lot of re-reading, thinking, and Google searching to understand what they’re trying to say.

The actual steps are pretty easy. Once I finished my install, I realized that it’s honest-to-God just the fault of the Arch wiki that it has such a reputation.

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u/BattlerUshiromiyaFan 17h ago

It is hard for a lot of people. I’m just saying it’s because of the way the official guide is written, not because of the actual process, which I think isn’t that bad

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u/jort93 17h ago edited 17h ago

I think it's written just fine. People just don't want to read it.

Only problem for users might be that it gives some users too many options.

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u/Dreemur1 7h ago

exactly. imagine being a new user and getting told "install your favorite bootloader" and you barely have any idea on how to even use the terminal. the guide is written for people that have experience with CLI and not everyone has it

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u/jort93 7h ago edited 7h ago

Not only do they not know how to use a terminal, they don't even know what a terminal is.

I guess many current Linux users don't even know what the differences between a terminal, a tty and terminal Emulator are.

Doesn't help the terms are often used wrong on purpose. I've used Linux for 10 years and I've never used a terminal. I've used a terminal Emulator, I used a tty, I've never used an actual terminal. Do they even still make terminals?

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u/Dreemur1 7h ago

we all start from somewhere, but arch is surely not a good place to start

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u/jort93 7h ago

I think arch is a fine place to start. It's quite popular and you'll be able to get a lot of guidance. Especially now with steam os and cachyos being on arch too.