Why do you care so much about the few extra miliseconds wasted downloading, then? (0.8% size increase is ~ 0). Also don't forget that Arch can also be used on m

Why do you care so much about the few extra miliseconds wasted downloading, then? (0.8% size increase is ~ 0). Also don't forget that Arch can also be used on machines with very slow CPU but very fast network connections, like many VPSs. I think this will make a tangible difference on mine. This is also a big improvement for package maintainers and anyone building their own packages without bothering to modify the makepkg defaults, eg. most people using an AUR helper.