[donio]

> Gentoo linux is essentially made specifically for people like this, to be able to optimize one’s own linux rig for one’s specific usecase.

That's true but worth noting that "optimize" here doesn't necessarily refer to performance.

I've been using Gentoo for 20 years and performance was never the reason. Gentoo is great if you know how you want things to work. Gentoo helps you get there.

[kennysoona]

If it wasn't for performance, what was gained in using it over something like Slackware and building only the packages you needed to?

[CamouflagedKiwi]

USE flags. You can build packages with specific features enabled or disabled, which can further reduce your dependency tree.

[xlii]

Long time ago when I was using it I preferred Gentoo because of ergonomics and better exposition to supply chain.

Slackware was very manual and some bits were drowned in its low level and long command chains. Gentoo felt easy but highlighted dependencies with a hard cost associated with compilation times.

Being a newb back then I enjoyed user friendliness with access to the machinery beneath. Satisfaction of a 1s boot time speedu, a result of 48h+ compilation, was unparalleled, too ;)

[0xbadcafebee]

> If it wasn't for performance, what was gained

A new hobby