Would love to pursue a scratch built linux distro that I can keep lite and speedy and I ask this with the utmost respect for Gerard and what he has done. I have mild linux experience, but am willing to give it a go, BUT.....

I want to make sure that the project is up and running, robust and has some depth to it. Too many times I have stumbled across a neat project only to find out halfway thru that I have to abandon it because a crucial link is missing, or package is outdated or won't compile 'cuz someone is working on it.

Anybody with any experience here that can help me decide whether to go forward? If I have to bail out I want it to be because I'm too dumb to figure it out not because the project is at a standstill.

Thanks

Just built my own LFS not more than 2-3 weeks ago and all went just fine. You be carefull at every details and read it all. And tobe sure you won't find any packages link not working download the whole archive with all the packages needed from linuxfromscratch, you'll find the link in the book. And you should use the stable version and not adventure, yet, with the devel one. Good luck if you make up your mind.

LFS is very much alive and kicking.

(Assuming you've never done anything like this before,) I suggest you start out following every detail of the latest stable book TO THE LETTER. Once you're done, you will feel proud of yourself. You might not be as slim as you want, but that's ok. I reccomend that you do it all over again. But this time, try mixing and matching from the development branch (use your own judgement). Look at all the available configurable options for each package (not just --prefix and the others described in the LFS book). Read through the hints database and pick out what you like (the hints, unlike the book, could be outdated, but usually they're helpful). My favorite hint was called something like `More Control through Package Users'. If you do the second build process right, you should have (at least a few minor) problems . This is not a bad thing. After one build, you get a feel for what a distribution is all about. After the second or third build, you get a feel for how to get different parts of different packages to interoperate (good linux problem-solving skills). Afterward, you have the confidence to go on to B[eyond]LFS, and install packages that exceed the bare minimum.

The best thing about LFS is that you can do whatever you want. Remember, it's: Your Distro. Your Rules.