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> However, when installing Arch, I resolved each installation error with the help of the wiki The Arch wiki is amazing even if you're not running Arch at all.

> However, when installing Arch, I resolved each installation error with the help of the wiki The Arch wiki is amazing even if you're not running Arch at all. In 25+ years of using Linux I've never used Arch and yet the Arch wiki is really a treasure trove. I regularly use it even though I'm running Debian (and Devuan too).

incomingpain 3y ago
YES! The arch wiki is amazing!
PH95VuimJjqBqy 3y ago
Gentoo as well.
jchw 3y ago
Yep, I use Arch Wiki as a starting point even for NixOS issues, when they're not strictly Nix-specific. Before then, Gentoo wiki was the go-to, but Arch Wiki has surpassed it by this point. I also think that the AUR is a great source of information too, since PKGBUILDs are really easy to understand and useful for determining how a program can be built and packaged, and you can go and use this to make other kinds of packages for a given program.
- ParetoOptimal 3y ago
  Yes, once you get to the competence level of being able to map over information from the arch wiki or GitHub issues your experience becomes a lot smoother.
- true_pk 3y ago
  Yes! Gentoo was my first Linux distro, and I am grateful for the wiki. It made my hard ride with Linux — it’s been 15 years now — highly enjoyable
- Geezus_42 3y ago
  Same. I'm hoping the push the Nix documentation team is pushing right now sets the path to something like the Arch wiki for NixOS.
  - zilti 3y ago
    So, basically like the Guix docs then
    - jchw 3y ago
      The Guix actually docs look like the current Nix docs, which I presume is not a coincidence given the nature of Guix. These are not bad docs by any means, but the Arch wiki is a wealth of documentation that goes far beyond the norms, documenting all sorts of things that are not part of the base system, including quirks with specific hardware and software. There's nothing wrong with the docs Nix and Guix have today, they're just not really the same thing as Arch Wiki. NixOS has an unofficial wiki, which is a bit more apples-to-apples, but it's relatively bare for now. That having been said, I think I'd have a bit of trouble adopting the Guix system though, because I rely pretty heavily on the NixOS options search, and it seems Guix at this moment only has a package search.
      - rekado 3y ago
        You can also search system services / facilities: guix system search ...
revskill 3y ago
You mean the Debian wiki is bad or useless ?
- bee_rider 3y ago
  I think Arch and Gentoo are generally considered closer to upstream. So, it is less likely that you are getting os-specific advice on their wikis.
- kwk1 3y ago
  Worth noting that part of the reason the Arch wiki is more effective than the Debian wiki is that the former only deals with a single version of things, "current", whereas the Debian wiki has to address multiple releases. This makes it more difficult to prune old information or to have a concise narrative, among other effects.
  - m463 3y ago
    I think it might be that the software in arch and the "wordware" of the arch wiki are both in sync with reality/rolling release
BlackjackCF 3y ago
Arch’s docs make me simultaneously happy and sad: happy because they’re AMAZING even for the most obscure things I’ve run into… sad because they’ve given me a taste of what docs could be but aren’t.
- bluGill 3y ago
  In many cases that should be taken as a plea that you get involved and write those documentations. Writing documentation is hard, but someone needs to do it.
m463 3y ago
I think it is because it documents the individual contributions to linux, which all coexist in the Arch distribution. Since arch doesn't generally make choices for you, the wiki IS sort of the choose-your-own-adventure installer. Other distributions have made the choices, but they are documented in the wiki.

incomingpain 3y ago

YES! The arch wiki is amazing!

PH95VuimJjqBqy 3y ago

Gentoo as well.

jchw 3y ago

Yep, I use Arch Wiki as a starting point even for NixOS issues, when they're not strictly Nix-specific. Before then, Gentoo wiki was the go-to, but Arch Wiki has surpassed it by this point. I also think that the AUR is a great source of information too, since PKGBUILDs are really easy to understand and useful for determining how a program can be built and packaged, and you can go and use this to make other kinds of packages for a given program.

ParetoOptimal 3y ago
Yes, once you get to the competence level of being able to map over information from the arch wiki or GitHub issues your experience becomes a lot smoother.
true_pk 3y ago
Yes! Gentoo was my first Linux distro, and I am grateful for the wiki. It made my hard ride with Linux — it’s been 15 years now — highly enjoyable
Geezus_42 3y ago
Same. I'm hoping the push the Nix documentation team is pushing right now sets the path to something like the Arch wiki for NixOS.
- zilti 3y ago
  So, basically like the Guix docs then
  - jchw 3y ago
    The Guix actually docs look like the current Nix docs, which I presume is not a coincidence given the nature of Guix. These are not bad docs by any means, but the Arch wiki is a wealth of documentation that goes far beyond the norms, documenting all sorts of things that are not part of the base system, including quirks with specific hardware and software. There's nothing wrong with the docs Nix and Guix have today, they're just not really the same thing as Arch Wiki. NixOS has an unofficial wiki, which is a bit more apples-to-apples, but it's relatively bare for now. That having been said, I think I'd have a bit of trouble adopting the Guix system though, because I rely pretty heavily on the NixOS options search, and it seems Guix at this moment only has a package search.
    - rekado 3y ago
      You can also search system services / facilities: guix system search ...

revskill 3y ago

You mean the Debian wiki is bad or useless ?

bee_rider 3y ago
I think Arch and Gentoo are generally considered closer to upstream. So, it is less likely that you are getting os-specific advice on their wikis.
kwk1 3y ago
Worth noting that part of the reason the Arch wiki is more effective than the Debian wiki is that the former only deals with a single version of things, "current", whereas the Debian wiki has to address multiple releases. This makes it more difficult to prune old information or to have a concise narrative, among other effects.
- m463 3y ago
  I think it might be that the software in arch and the "wordware" of the arch wiki are both in sync with reality/rolling release

BlackjackCF 3y ago

Arch’s docs make me simultaneously happy and sad: happy because they’re AMAZING even for the most obscure things I’ve run into… sad because they’ve given me a taste of what docs could be but aren’t.

bluGill 3y ago
In many cases that should be taken as a plea that you get involved and write those documentations. Writing documentation is hard, but someone needs to do it.

m463 3y ago

I think it is because it documents the individual contributions to linux, which all coexist in the Arch distribution. Since arch doesn't generally make choices for you, the wiki IS sort of the choose-your-own-adventure installer. Other distributions have made the choices, but they are documented in the wiki.