this post was submitted on 19 Oct 2025
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For general users, updates changing things is pretty much never an issue, which is why typical end users always use the word "stable" to convey it's more colloquial meaning of "not going to break on me", rather than the technical definition sys admins use it to describe.
If arch didn't have breaking changes I don't think users would ever really mind it being rolling release, which is how you get the term "stable rolling release" for rolling distros that hold updates for long enough to generally prevent breakage, like void or tumbleweed
To the original commenter's point, as a more design and ux person I think being able to do unattended upgrades and not get any errors or stuff you have to fix is kinda important. Which is why I find it a tad irksome when technical folks act like everyone and their grandma should run arch cause it's never given them issues. It is awesome that it sounds like it's improved so much though!
Maybe I'll try arch some time and see if I've progressed enough to not find managing my system a bit more bothersome
As an Arch user, man I hate when people are like that. Arch certainly has a specific target audience. If you (the individual) are comfortable with a distro, and it works well for you, it's a good option. If Arch isn't that, then it's not a good option for you. Some people don't understand that even the "once a year single command" maintenance is too technical for most.
Having run Arch only the last few years, I don't know how much it's improved compared to say 10 years ago. I do know on most of my systems I don't spend that much time updating or maintaining my Arch installations, usually just a
yay, select which AUR packages not to update (the ones I have can have issues updating sometimes), wait for 15-ish minutes (depends how much I have to compile from AUR), and that's it. From server to desktop, some weekly, others once every couple months. Although I would say it's more than average, as I have a custom repository with some nightly compiled packages, which has its own issues.I 100% agree with this comment. Also, if that “once-a-year single command” bit was about my comment, I’d have appreciated the shout-out 😄
If not, all good — I was literally talking about copy-pasting a line from the Arch or package page. It’s nothing technical; it’s basically similar as running a
pacmancommand.Arch has certainly a specific target audience. That's true for every distros. The magic of GNU/Linux — you get to pick exactly how much chaos you want in your life. From super-polished plug-and-play distros to full DIY mode, there’s something for everyone. Nobody should ever be forced to use a distro. Again, it's a personal choice and the one that will make you enjoy using your system. Arch is meant for people who have time and desire to build their system and write a bunch of config files. In that sense, yeah, it’s a technical distro, and that certainly not make its users anything special. I'm still and will forever be a Linux noob compared to a lots of people.