[olug] Distro X?

[Daniel J Griffiths (Ghost1227)]

Before I get into what exactly I am looking for, let me tell you a little
about myself. My introduction to Linux came through a copy of Red Hat 2.4
given to me by a friend. As new distributions were introduced, I went
through the typical distro-hopping spree that many Linux users go through.
After spending time with Slackware, Gentoo, Fedora, Debian, and half a dozen
others I finally settled down with Arch. Over several years, I became a Bug
Wrangler, then a Trusted User, and finally joined the Arch Developer Team.
For various reasons, I recently stepped down and decided it was time to
develop my own distro.

So why another Linux distro? Several reasons, perhaps most importantly the
challenge and knowledge to be gained. Additionally, I haven't found a distro
that completely suits me. Some aren't stable enough, some are too
conservative. Some take too much choice away from the user, some allow full
customization but at the expense of usability. The list goes on. As such, I
am now working on what will hopefully become a viable Linux distribution
henceforth known as Distro X (hey, I haven't come up with a decent name
yet).

*What is Distro X?
*Distro X is an attempt to create a Linux distribution with a focus on
extensibility and choice. Through the assembly of a dedicated community of
developers, trusted users and (eventually) bug-wranglers, Distro X is being
developed in the spirit of Linux and the open source community.
Through the dedication of its development team, it is also intended to be
built as an open source distribution with the potential to eventually
compete in the commercial market. Once Distro X is deemed suitable for
commercial sale, it will be provided at little more than cost, covering only
end-user essentials, documentation and furthering its development.

*Why is Distro X being developed?
*Distro X is being developed to fill a hole in the Linux distribution map.
Mainstream distributions are frequently developed with a singular purpose in
mind. Distributions like Ubuntu are designed with new users in mind, where
installation and configuration takes little more than a single keypress.
While this may be ideal for a user just coming into the Linux community,
many users may find this setup too restrictive. Conversely, distributions
like Arch are more focused on advanced users, providing nothing more than a
command line and expecting the user to figure out deployment for themselves.
Debian, while extremely stable, tends to lag behind other distributions in
terms of its release cycle, and Red Hat caters exclusively to enterprise
users.
We believe that in an ideal distribution, users should have as much say in
the deployment of their system as possible. As such, when a Distro X live CD
is booted, users will have the ability to choose whether to install via
command line, dialog, or GUI. Users who want a simplified system will be
given the opportunity to utilize graphical configuration systems, while
advanced users can opt out and customize via the command line. Unlike most
mainstream distributions, Distro X does not provide a so-called default X
environment. This allows the user to define the parameters of their own
system, be it through the use of a full DE such as GNOME or KDE, or a more
minimalistic system utilizing a Window Manager such as Openbox or XMonad.
Distro X is being developed as neither a purely source distro, nor a purely
binary distro. Similar to Arch, the core of the distro will be distributed
in binary format, as will certain critical and/or common-use packages. Build
scripts will be provided for all packages in the official repositories so
that users may easily recompile them to suit their own needs. An additional
repository will be provided for user-contributed and -maintained packages.
While not officially supported, these packages will be monitored by
designated trusted users, and packages may be migrated to official
repositories if deemed popular enough.
Official development teams will be governed by a set of by-laws to be laid
out by the initial developers at a later date. Joining any of the
development teams constitutes acceptance of the aformentioned by-laws.
Members who repeatedly disregard the by-laws can result in removal from
their position.


If you've made it this far, then at the very least you are likely interested
in the possibility of a new distribution and I would love to hear from you.
If you think you have something to contribute to this project, be it through
core development, UI design, release engineering or something else
altogether, please let me know! Suggestions for a name? I'll take that too!
Regardless, if you've made it this far, please make a post and let me know
what you think!