Why I can't recommend Arch or Gentoo

[Kelly Prescott]

Ok, I now have the time to respond to this thread...
Echoing some of the things others have said, here I go!

1:  I like Kyle am a vollenteer maintainer of the TalkingArch 
distribution.

2:  I share his vision of keeping it is close to the original arch as 
possible.  We are not seeking to make another distribution, rather we are 
seeking to make a distribution experience which is as close to the 
original as possible.

3:  I realize that this is not all things to all people.  If this isn't 
your distro of choice, I totally understand and there are several others 
from which you can choose or you can make another one to match your 
particular needs/desires.

4.  Also like Kyle, I am always willing to help when I can.
I do better responding to the mailing list for 2 reasons.   The first is I 
want my answers archived so future users might find them should they need 
them, and secondly I have a busy professional life which makes this the 
easiest medium at present for me.

5.  I am perfectly willing to help fix support issues particularly in the 
braille side of things, and I have 2 displays at present, a Hims Braille 
Edge 40 and a pacmate 40 cell display.
This does, limit my options, but I do what I can.

6:  Mention was made of changing the serial detection of brltty in the 
distro, and We might be able to do that, but I am reluctant to change the 
packages I use as I don't want them to differ from the distributed ones.
The only mods I make at present are to strip out some of the XWindows and 
API stuff so it will be a smaller package for the ISO.

7:  As we move forward, change is are bound to happen.  Even the regular 
Arch developers are struggling with the fact that the distro is going to 
no longer fit on a CDRom.
We could strip out the braille support, but this would take out braille as 
a installation option and the main stream arch iso will go over the CD 
size probably by the end of the year anyway. We still offer the cd on 
request as a option, so no one is left out.

8:  as for developer motivation, mine works like this.  I want a 
blind-friendly command-line distribution I can use.  I also want to help 
other like-minded persons discover the command-line and learn Linux.
I am not trying to rid the world of Windows per say, but I do enjoy seeing 
people learn more about the software and hardware they use.
I also enjoy seeing people switch to free software options.
It is all about choice!

I hope everyone has a wonderful day!
-- Kelly Prescott