One of the things I like best about FreeBSD is the ports collection, since it allows me to keep software updated and current as opposed to pre-compiled packages

One of the things I like best about FreeBSD is the ports collection, since it allows me to keep software updated and current as opposed to pre-compiled packages (only Arch Linux comes close) in the Linux world. At the same time, the base system (kernel+world) stays stable. This is also why I would choose FreeBSD over source-based Linux distros, since the latter updates everything to bleeding edge, even the kernel. Also, sometimes I get the feeling that the FreeBSD world is less about politics and more about getting stuff to work. This makes porting software easier (ZFS for example).