I’ve been using Linux Mint since forever. I’ve never felt a reason to change. But I’m interested in what persuaded others to move.

  • @tutus@links.hackliberty.org
    6•6 months ago

    Now Manjaro on the other hand… Tried it and understood why so many people don’t like it within the first week.

    I see this a lot and nobody really ever explains, properly, why.

    I have used Linux off and on for many years (mainly server OS such as RHEL and CentOS). I have now migrated from Windows desktop to Manjaro KDE. Using it for a year. Had one issue (wouldn’t boot after a kernel update), which I sorted quickly. Other than that it’s been rock solid.

    But this isn’t a ‘I have a great experience so you’re all just haters’ post.

    I know the stuff about it being a week or behind Arch. I remember something about the maintainers (can’t remember specifics) but they seem to be minor niggles that don’t affect most people.

    Genuine question.

    Why do you dislike Manjaro? I also know it’s a common theme to dislike it, so any other insight there?

    • IllecorsEnglish
      24•6 months ago

      Not the guy you asked, but my 2 main gripes are:

      • holding back main repos and not aur? That’s dumb and just asking for trouble.
      • sheer incompetence. Remember their certs expiring? Remember their public recommended workaround? That’s webdev level of bs. They absolutely do not understand their own setup.
    • @LeFantome@programming.dev
      3•6 months ago

      I am responding too much but this question seems genuine so I hope this answer helps.

      1 - I, at least, do not “dislike” Manjaro. I think it is very good looking. I loved the out of the box experience. I liked it a lot.

      2 - Manjaro broke on me multiple times. I now consider it “unsafe”. That is not really “dislike”.

      Why unsafe?

      1 - the project has governance issues. You can say we should get over them but they have been repetitive. Once bitten, twice shy as they say.

      2 - more systemically, using the AUR is less safe than on other Arch distros

      Why? Well, primarily because the Manjaro repos “hold back” packages for something like 2 - 4 weeks ( I honestly cannot remember but the number is not the issue ). Manjaro does not curate the AUR itself though so the AUR is “current” compared to other Arch distros.

      I will not run through all the ways this can break things. I will point out though that when Manjaro defenders say that “it all syncs up again in a couple of weeks”, they are wrong.

      It is not about delaying updates ( sorry if I am insulting your intelligence to say this but Manjaro defenders often insist on thinking this is “the problem” that people have with Manjaro ). This cannot be the problem. Different users update at different times. I do it frequently. Some people wait months.

      You can manually delay updates on any Arch distro. EndeavourOS even includes a utility ( eos-update ) to specify a specific delay on package updates.

      In short, the problems stem from the lack of repo sync at INSTALL time. Manjaro differs from every other Arch distro in terms of what packages are available when you install software from the AUR.

      You can believe that this matters, as I have learned, or you can believe that it does not. I hope it works out for you. I really do.