Subj : Arch btw
To   : DaiTengu
From : Accession
Date : Tue Nov 25 2025 16:23:02

Hey DaiTengu!

On Tue, 25 Nov 2025 14:50:54 -0600, you wrote:

 > it's not really a "branch" it just tells portage to unmask packages
 > with that flag set.

I've always referred to it as the stable, and testing/unstable branches. *shrug*

Gentoo wiki:

"The ACCEPT_KEYWORDS variable informs the package manager which ebuilds' KEYWORDS values it is allowed to accept. This variable is used to select either stable or testing branch as default."

 > I just checked, the latest ebuild for gentoo-sources (the kernel) is
 > 6.17.9, which was released yesterday.  There is also vanilla-sources
 > which is an ebuild of the kernel without any gentoo specific things
 > added/patched.

Yeah, still sounds the same as when I used it. I just can't be bothered to sit and compile my entire system any more, especially when I don't need to optimize packages for anything besides the "cool factor" or bragging that I have the ability. Even with newer hardware, it still takes 15-20 minutes to compile a kernel (heard it from a friend). Then, on those off-chance times where your kernel, gcc, and glibc all need to be updated along with other packages, you're looking at hours. I could be doing something more productive during that time. Nowadays, I can download a kernel, install it along with 20+ other packages, and reboot in the matter of a couple minutes. ;)

 > Most of the issues I run into when I haven't updated in awhile are
 > python related, where some packages still expect an older version, and
 > that's being replaced with something newer.

And since Gentoo probably uses python more than any other distro, that can seriously mess some shiz up. I doubt that would happen nearly as often, if at all, in the stable arena, though.

Speaking of which. I've been meaning to install Gentoo in a VM to mess around with it again. But, I keep asking myself.. what am I going to do with it once it's installed? The answer is usually "probably nothing," so I do something else, instead. ;)

 > Also, I run openrc for my init system.  systemd can rot in hell.

All good. Some chose to stick with what works for them. I made the switch early on (as soon as Archlinux made it default), for no reason but jump on the bandwagon and learn something new. I haven't had any issues with systemd whatsoever.

 > (NetworkManager can also rot in hell, but that's an entirely different
 > gripe)

That I don't normally use (I believe I'm using it on an Archlinux/Wayland/Hyprland Virtualbox VM, but I just didn't go out of my way to /not/ unselect it, and it's not a permanent setup so I'm not to picky about it). I've been using systemd-networkd and dhcpcd for as long as I can remember, and everything that runs Linux is wired so I don't bother installing anything for wifi.

Regards,
Nick

.... Sarcasm: because beating people up is illegal.
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