Why do you use Slackware?
 

In the wake of another thread praising Slackware for its legendary rock-solid stability, I'd like to throw the title question out there, and see who came to Slackware for what reason, and who continues to use it, and why.

Let me start off this discussion.

I started using computers in the fall of '84, when, as a fresh-faced student in junior high, I had my first taste of computers. The very first computer I tried was a TRS-80 Model I. By today's standards, it was, and is, hopelessly underpowered, but for me, it was a chance to control something in my life. I knew from the moment I saw it that computers would become my life's passion. That has not changed.

When I entered high school, I took a programming class, and they used Apple IIe computers (a computer, by the way, I have major respect for, having been imbued with the genius of one Steve Wozniak, and the last computer Apple made which I used with regularity). That whetted my appetite for programming at the time, and I wanted more.

After getting out of the military, I started building my own computers. Anyone who started in that era will remember vividly when add-on cards came with jumpers, and a manual that detailed what settings controlled what IRQ line it would take, what memory range it would occupy, etc. To have a working system then would have been a work of art, and maybe a bit of genius.

It was around '96 when I first heard of this open-source OS called Linux. At the time, I was running FreeBSD, and liked its init system, and hoped for something similarly simple to administrate. Nevertheless, I experimented with some of the other major offerings to see if something else would be better suited to my tastes.

Alas, none of the major offerings (Red Hat, SuSE, Caldera, among others) came close to satisfying my need for tweaking my system to my heart's content. In frustration, I googled for a distro which was similar to BSD. Among the results was a mention of something called Slackware. Curious, I checked it out. The description sounded like what I was looking for, so I downloaded it. This was in, I believe, about 2006, soon after the release of 10.2; I bought 11.0 on CD-ROM when it was released, as a measure of good faith.

I had to use Windows for some applications back then, because application support wasn't where it is now, and so I dual-booted. But gradually, as Linux app support became better, I gradually used Windows less and less, and in about 2012, I stopped using it entirely. And I have had no reason to regret leaving it behind.

The reason I use Slackware is because it gives me the experience that those older home computers gave me: it forced me to know what my computer was doing behind the scenes. When something was broken or didn't work right, I was forced to find my own solution. Solving problems can be simultaneously frustrating and exhilarating. For me, it is something that I can never explain to another who is not already intimately familiar with that experience. You just have to experience it for yourself.

I can't ever imagine another distro that will give me that experience and for that reason alone, I will continue using Slackware for as long as it is maintained. Hopefully that will be for awhile!!

Sorry for this being long-winded, but I wanted to get this out there, and see who else is as excited as I to use this seemingly old-fashioned, out-of-date dinosaur of a distro to get modern tasks done.

Happy Slacking!

I use Slackware because I started with Slackware.

It was an accident. Someone told me I could use Linux to self-host my website. I had heard about Linux, but I had been reluctant to throw the family computer at Linux because it was, well, the family computer.

Then a coworker gave me some surplus computers. I tried to install some Linux distro or other to one of those surplus computers and it refused to install for some reason I forget what it was a long time ago. I then tried Slack and it installed (I used cfdisk rather than fdisk to partition the drive, as it was like DOS fdisk, with which I was familiar). It installed so smoothly that I ended up installing it three times that first Saturday afternoon before I was satisfied that I got it right.

I ended up self-hosting my website on that machine for several years. During that time, Slackware taught me to understand how Linux works. I learned how to compile from sources and how to resolve dependencies all on my ownsome.

I no longer self-host my website (the SQL database for my blog outgrew localhost), but I still Slack.

I've used many distros, but I've always had at least one Slackware machine, because Slackware always works and never breaks. As someone else once said, it is the "Distro of Iron."

No other distro achieves the elegant simplicity of Slackware.

I began using Linux circa 1997. In 2004 I migrated from Mandrake 10.0 to Slackware 10.0 but don't remember why. I still use it (Slint is based on Slackware). Why not?

it was the midlate 90's and I did alot of drugs.

tried redhat it seemed bloated and experimental. redhat was based off slackware so when I got tired of redhat I went to slackware.
been using slackware since 97/98. though took a unwanted break last few years.

Started with Slackware in 1995 - very old version.

I was interested in Linux because I was working with SunOS workstations at the time, and I liked the stability and the command-line - I had been using MS-DOS since version 3.0 or 3.3 at the time, so I liked using stuff like bash or sh. Slackware (Linux) was the only "real" Linux distribution for PC at the time, so that made my choice easy. :D

I remember copying dozens and dozens of floppies, because the computer I had at the time did not have a CDROM drive. Then, spending hours nursing the computer, ejecting floppies and putting the next one in. Fun times!

Before installing Slackware for the first time, I read all the documentation I could get my hands on, so it went pretty smoothly. However, I was really disappointed, because my graphical card was not able to support a resolution of 1024 x 768 for X11, only 800 x 600. I probably messed up the X11 configuration as well, which was easy to do with XFree86.

But I kept getting back to Slackware, after going through Mandrake, Red Hat, SuSE, NetBSD and FreeBSD because Slackware was always the easiest to install, the distribution that best supported my hardware and the one that seemed the most "open" of them all: since almost everything in Slackware is a shell script, including the installer itself, you can read the code and understand it. Slackware does not treat you as a moron, like many "user friendly" distributions out there and it does not install a ton of crap, like so many others (*cough* *cough* systemd *cough*).

These days, Slackware is still my "go to" distribution, when I want to throw something together quickly, and have a super-stable, easy to update server at the same time. And I became a sysadmin instead of just being a "power user", so you could say that Slackware has influenced me in many ways. :D

I keep using Slackware because it provides you with a system that feels both "light", borderline minimalist, and complete -- and that is a very very rare thing these days.

The one thing I would change in Slackware is to use Postfix as a mail server instead of Sendmail and Unbound as a DNS server instead of BIND. But that's just nit-picking, and my personal opinion.

Long live Slackware, and thanks to Patrick "The Man" Volkerding and the rest of the Slackware crew for a fantastic ditro, and one that has given me years and years of faitful service!

Hi, nice thread. We can learn about people's experience and about the past history of computers and OS's.

For my part, I started using computers in 2001 at school. All we knew about was Windows 98 and WindowsMe. I come from a small country and we were quite poor, so I had no idea there were other OS's. My use of the computer was extremely basic.

It was in 2007, when I got into University for a BSc Physics that I learnt about Linux. It is really a good thing that the Dept of Physics at the University of Mauritius teaches us Linux. Yeah, we have a whole module about Linux and LaTeX typesetting in BSc Physics. And the even greater thing is that they teach the module using Slackware. Slackware is a great tool to learn; the curve is steep but you can learn a lot.

Unfortunately, the lecturer who does the module is pretty bad at explaining things. So, we end up frustrated and scared of Slackware. So I started using Ubuntu. I dual booted Windows XP and Ubuntu for a while. Finally, I started to get tired of both Windows and Ubuntu. Then, Unity came and I quit Ubuntu.

In 2013, I overcame my fear and officially returned to Slackware. I honestly struggled during some time, but as the months went by I started to exploit the power of the system and the shear simplicity of Slackware. I enjoyed it. I liked it so much that I started to spend more and more time on Slackware and less time on Windows. At some point I realized Slackware didn't crash at all. And, the mind-blowing speed. Slackware is huge but boots so fast and I always have a smile when I look at the RAM usage. I literally fell in love with Slackware.

Two years after adopting Slackware, I parted with Windows. Today I wake up with Slackware, spend the whole day with it and go to sleep with it. Even my brother, who does not know much in Linux, uses Slackware, just for the speed and stability. I manage 3 PCs and a laptop with Slackware. Seriously, I cannot live without it. Nowadays I am doing a PhD in Physics and I develop software for Radio Astronomy and Astrophysics. Slackware is essential for my work. The huge library reservoir with which Slackware comes is a huge advantage.

People might think Slackware is a dinosaur, but it is actually the exact contrary. Slackware comes with the latest tools already. If you want it to look and behave old-style, you can. If you want it to look modern, you can as well. I say, it is the rigid ready-made and supposedly user-friendly OS's which are obsolete.

For the stability, simplicity, speed and for the ease of doing whatever I want with the system, I will continue to use Slackware for many more years to come. :D

Finally, I think I have to thank Patrick Volkerding for his amazing work. And many thanks for all the developers, and especially Alien Bob.

Long live Slackware.

Well, when I came to Slackware there weren't that many alternatives to choose from. Why I'm still here is harder to answer succinctly. I suspect familiarity plays a large part; that along with Slackware mostly following the traditional UNIX model are probably what keep me here.

If/when I ever jump ship I expect it'll be to a *BSD.

Slackware 3.0 came with the book I bought, The Linux Bible 4th edition, Yggdrasil Computing. To surf the BBS and internet later.

I distro hopped around several different distributions since starting in Linux, from various flavors of Ubuntu to Mint and then Manjaro and finally Debian. They were all fine in their own ways, but none of them appealed to me enough to keep me from getting curious and eventually switching to something else.

For some reason, while using Debian I got interested in seeing what BSD was all about. I tried it in a VM and found that I really liked it. It seemed well thought out and didn't try to protect the user from himself or herself. I soon realized that I wouldn't be happy with the hardware support situation on my laptop, so I never installed it to bare metal and instead went searching for a "Linux distribution most like BSD." It was then that I came across Slackware. I guess I had not considered it before because of the rumors that it was difficult and/or old-fashioned, not to mention that there was no dependency resolution (which sounds horrible coming from someone who is familiar with apt, pacman, etc.). I'm glad I did give it a try, because it turns out to be just about perfect. It's simple, it lets the administrator actually administrate instead of getting in the way, and it's rock-stable while still being cutting edge if you want. And, as it turns out, the lack of dependency resolution is actually a huge advantage, because it (in part -- there are other reasons too) makes Slackware by far the easiest distro to build packages for or upgrade software using SlackBuilds from current or third-party sources.

I started with Slackware 3.0 because the CD was in the back cover of "Linux Unleashed". As a young software developer it satisfied my needs -- it gave me the GNU toolchain (gcc, gdb, gas, ld, etc) and an editor, and it ran on the ancient computers I cobbled together from third-hand parts.

Over the years I distro-hopped a little, but kept coming back to Slackware, mostly because it was very reliable, but also because I am lazy enough to appreciate its "kitchen sink" approach of installing everything I need out-of-the-box.

Fast-forward twenty-something years and I'm still using it because it is so very reliable, is familiar, satisfies most my needs, and when it doesn't satisfy a need, its simplicity lends it to adaptation.

I run servers, and I develop for servers, and having the same Slackware on my laptop/desktops as I do on my servers means I can develop and test my software on my desktop systems with some confidence it will JFW on the servers when it is deployed. I still test under the production environment, of course, but the congruency means there are hardly ever problems needing correction. It's just damn convenient.

Having worked for places which use other Linux distributions, and having witnessed first-hand the reliability problems those distributions exhibit as a consequence of their higher complexity, lackadaisical development methodology, opacity and relative deficit of testing, I don't foresee ever switching away from Slackware.

I use Slackware because surprises should only come on your birthday.

Well said, Mark! :D

i use Slackware, because it is stable, reliable and last but not least, because I am already familiar with it.

I use Slackware because it's easy to customize it for web development. For the developing and the serving of web sites.

I also like Slackware because package management is simple compared to other distributions. Extending the base system is easy and causes no issues.

Slackware also doesn't assume you are a remedial user and allows you to have full control over your system.

I use Slackware because it's easy to fix problems in (usually no problems :) ), and
just seems to work reliably.

I started with Redhat in 1997. Bought a book with discs for Slackware, Redhat, Debian,
and something else. Only Redhat had a driver for my video card. A friend showed me
how to get the source for the driver and compile it. I then tried Slackware and
haven't strayed. I have experimented with most of the other distributions but can't
seem to shake Slackware.

Simple. Very close or maybe the closest thing to traditional UNIX. When my friends were installing Windows 3.11 on their machines I got a job where I worked witch SCO UNIX and early Solaris.

I am using programs like Xpdf, XFig, rxvt, xv. My WM is IceWM with Motif theme.

I also like its simple design; having full control of your system is what being a nerd is all about, IMO.

I hate having to fix problems in the first place; having to deal with a distro that tries to do too much for the user, and doesn't get out of the way so that I can fix the problem myself is a headache I can live without.

There's probably a good reason you can't shake Slackware, because of the above-stated reason. Just a guess...;)

Yeah, you know these devel- packages?

Yes, the dumbest idea ever.

I use Slackware today because it's optimized for building your own packages and because the stock install (even on -current) is so well-tested.

It's really quite simple for me. I cannot use any other. I have to use Slackware. All others lead me right back to Slackware. I gave up trying others years ago, it an exercise in futility.

I know what you mean. Recently, I tried Manjaro. It was the most tolerable of all the systemd-based distros. I used it on my Dell Inspiron 2-in-1 laptop for several months. It became gradually intolerable for me, because of the simplicity of Slackware on my main desktop. I found a way to set the laptop to legacy mode, and was able to install Slackware on it. Before all that, I tried Manjaro on my desktop. Initally, I was impressed by the spit and polish of the distro. Then I began to use it, and all that I didn't like about automated distros came to the surface. At least this time, when I reinstalled Slackware, it booted much faster, even with the SSD. All in all, I think that a fresh install of Slackware was in order; maybe the wanderlust did me some good after all, if only to reinforce the impression that Slackware really is the best, at least for me.

Why do you use Slackware?
 

I think if I was going to switch distributions again I would go to FreeBSD. I don't see that happening unless Slackware ceased development.

When I was halfway through my Engineering degree I decided to buy a small EEE PC to take to class, and put Linux on it so I could write down "Linux Experience" on my resume.

Anyways I ended up loving Linux and spent heaps of time hacking away getting drivers working and packages installed. I started with Ubuntu, but read on some forums that "real men" use Gentoo or Debian or Slackware.. Well I tried to install Gentoo and destroyed everything, tried to install Debian but the website was confusing.. Slackware just worked after slowly fumbling my way though the installer.

I did all my University work on that little EEE PC running Slack 13.0 for the next couple years. I pretty much credit Slackware for teaching me all about Linux which helped me land a career working on embedded systems and embedded Linux.

So thanks Pat & co.

Mechanism, not policy
 

I was reading Eric S. Raymond's seminal book regarding Unix, "The Art of Unix Programming", and came across a section which bears scrutiny where Slackware is concerned. Particularly, this excerpt:

Slackware still follows this philosophy; its progenitor never pretended to anticipate his users' needs (policy) for his distro, preferring instead to concentrate on keeping the distro's design (mechanism) as simple as possible.

This has the following effect on most users upon first encountering Slackware:

Most distros designed to be 'user-friendly' follow a policy approach; most users, when encountering Linux, come from Windows, where both policy and mechanism have been dictated to them, and they are not obligated to make those kinds of choices; Redmond has made it for them. This, I believe, is where the popularity of Windows comes from; Microsoft has put a kind of 'user-friendly' approach for its GUIs, but the cost is that only those tasks its engineering and marketing departments have anticipated are super-easy; anything else is impossible, or extremely inconvenient, requiring almost super-human efforts to accomplish.

Raymond makes an allusion to this phenomenon:

The downside of these kinds of distros,however, are that changes to them not anticipated by its designers are excruciatingly difficult to accomplish, because of their superficial glossiness that hides the complexity necessary to present a simple interface to the user.

Slackware, on the other hand, makes no such bold claims for itself. Rather, the most essential packages have been assembled into a very simple system, with additional packages to facilitate convenience offered by its various users for the community, in order that changes to it are as easy as possible for users who have taken the time to understand what is going on behind the scenes, and then to make the changes they see as necessary to accommodate their work flow.

The reason that Slackware, in a general sense, only appeals to the technical users is because frequently, only these kinds of users are interested in how their systems work, and want to "get their hands dirty", so to speak, in twiddling their system at a very basic level to manipulate their data the way they want it accomplished. As a consequence, these users will do whatever it takes to make that happen, including Googling and experimenting, accepting failure the first few times as a natural consequence of their bit-twiddling, because success will always come to those who persist through failure and frustration.

This is the reason why Slackware has endured for so long, while its competitors have fallen by the wayside; despite its being derided by users who prefer a glossy approach to computing, other distros' seemingly intuitive approach confers a kind of rigidity, often with the undesirable effect of making computing more difficult than it needs to be. Slackware will remain relevant for as long as users desire to implement their own policy, and use Slackware's simple mechanism to accomplish their goals.

Somewhere in the mid nineties I wanted to know more about unix, so I bought a book about unix it had a CD attached of a very old Slackware version (kernel version 1.2.x). Since then I have been with Slackware on and off.

What I like about Slackware is that I can decide myself how to setup my system. It is also devoid of any of the technologies that make a system difficult to understand (packagemanagers with dependency tracking, systemd, etc...). When Slackware works, it always works and does exactly that what I want it to do.

Mel

I started using Slackware in 2017. :D

My first Linux was in 1996. I was introduced to the Internet a few months before (the university recently put computers in the entrance way to the libraries showing off the world-wide-web on a "browser"). Along with the Internet buzz was the buzz surrounding open source software. At the time, I had a 486 at home (on DOS and not online). I couldn't download Linux but I could buy it (the stores actually sold it in a package). I bought Red Hat Linux 5 in a white box (I still have it!) and also FreeBSD 2.2.6 in a multi-CD case. I never got that software to work.

In 1997 I started learning more about computers. I bought old 386 components from the flea market ($5 parts) and started building computers. I tried Minix on these old computers. Couldn't get it to work. :(

Long story short, I bought an old IBM PS/2 (386) last year. Last month I tackled the problem of whether I can install a Linux system on a machine with only 4 MB of RAM. Slackware helped me do it with the availability of old kernels, with boot disks and root disks, with an easy setup process. Slackware is a great learning tool.

Slackware just works. Works fast, works the way I want it to work, and is stable as a rock. I started with version 10.2, more than ten years ago, after a short adventures with Suse, Mandriva and Ubuntu. At the time, these three made me want to go back to MS systems. Stabillity issues, lacking flexibility, dependency hell.. it was just to much. Then I found Slackware, and that was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.:)

Whether as a server or desktop, Slackware just works. KISS principles at their best.

To quote something I read somewhere, "Slackware always works, and it never breaks." Though I must confess, I broke it once (but I fixed it too!).

My first Linux
 

I started with Slackware in November 1995. I set it up using Windows for Workgroups 3.11 to get to bulletin boards and such! Figured out how to use PPP and everything associated with it. I am a Software Engineer with 3 years left to retirement.
I used Digital VMS systems and loved command line. My first computer was a VIC-20; the Commador 64 came out a couple weeks later so I didn't buy another computer until I bought a 486. I put Slackware on it within a couple months and totally removed Windows. (I have a strong dislike of M$ and its products to say the least!) I have played with different distros but like others have usually had Slack machine sitting somewhere. I was using Kunbuntu until they updated grub and totally messed me up! I know I could have replaced the offending file but was totally tired of the constant updating. It is Linux and should not need constant updating. To me that is a sign of poor coding.
Anyway, back with Slack on my main machine and it will never leave again.
Long Live Slackware!
Mooshiner54

I use it because it is easy to use, stable, not as much as a headache as Gentoo. I can find the software I need or compile it. My most important reason for using it however is it has nothing to with SYSTEMD!.

Slackware is a great system for teaching Linux. My new book about Linux basics is entirely based on Slackware 14.2.

Cheers from the sunny South of France,

Niki

Member response
 

Hi,

Slackware is stable & easy to use for a knowledgeable user. I started with PV's first release and never looked at anything else since I did want a UNIX-like OS and Slackware provided that for me. I used Slackware within the LAB and found the reliability there. Tools available for development to create the control/interface of various LAB equipment.

Early releases were on Floppy disk sets with boxes of floppies to get the download complete. Our University had Thick Ethernet at the time and I would get my student aids to do my downloads. Their costs per hour were a lot cheaper than using my time. Let them do downloads an write the floppies. My first personal server used Slackware. Don't get me wrong, I loved UNIX but a license off campus was expensive so Slackware met my needs.

To date, I do use other Gnu/Linux for diagnostic work or experimentation. Since my retirement, I use Slackware within my personal LAB to keep my mind sharp and tuned to provide interfaces that I build for various sensors. Love to keep up to date but some of the hardware that I wish for is just too expensive. At the University LAB I would purchase hardware via my LAB budget to provide Bench experiments for student LABs. So I would have many types of hardware to experiment with that I could not personally afford.

We were granted several pieces of equipment that we would develop LAB interfaces and control to acquire experimental data then post process or Live process via multitask on LAB built PC hardware.

I have been working with ARM lately and find that platform would be great for instrumentation and computer analysis. SlackwareARM and other Gnu/Linux would fit perfectly. DAS would be cheaper as compared to a Nicolet. Not that I would like to build a Spectrometer or scope interface but I sure could build a User device to interface with a Nicolet DAS or even Spectrophotometers to allow a remote experimental data acquisition or even a User device to interface with Laser Doppler velocimetry (LDV). At the time of using LDV we would build our User interface using a PC but the ARM of today would be the way to acquire data for that experimental setup for the wind tunnel models. Things have changed in a few short years and will continue to improve as Slackware grows and provides the means for stable equipment experimentation. I could use some shields with new ARM boards to provide GPIO, DAC and ADC for control and collection of experimental data and process that same data. Process and collection could be simplified using a good OS like SlackwareARM along with tools with new ARM devices with proper sensor interface devices.

So I use Slackware every day and will continue to use it. Thanks to PV and team for a great Gnu/Linux that is very useful to me over the many years.

Slackware on everyone!

Hope this helps.
Have fun & enjoy!
:hattip:

Oh god.. I didn't read any other posts. Let me sum it up.

I use Slackware because it doesn't suck /end

Well said. It really comes down to one thing: when you want something done right, do it yourself. That, ultimately, is what Slackware is all about; administering your computer, your way. Would we really want it any other way?

I use Slackware because it was my first taste of Linux back at the beginning of 2002. It was Slackware 8 back then and I got it set up connecting to my then NT4 Server running everything 'Serverish' just to see what it was all about.

Was using XP until Oct last year but decided to go Full-out Linux as Windoze had too many security holes and bugs.

Am on Slack 14.2 64 & it's such a refreshing experience using a decent solid operating system. It took me a long time as I'd been out the Linux game for close to 15 years plus I do have health issues.

Slackware was my first thought when deciding to move to Linux and it'll always be one of my systems. It's tough for Noobies but that's part of its charm. Makes us think & learn.

I suppose technically my first taste of a GUI was PCTools PCShell but my first full-fledged GUI was not Windows but rather IBM's OS/2. I found and bought a boxed set of floppies for OS/2 2.1 after reading about it's development and advantages over DOS-based OpSys in a great, huge book entitled Hardware Bible. I upgraded through Warp and Merlin to finally Warp Server for e Business (WSEB) and somewhere along that line emx runtimes became available and I began running Enlightenment for a Window Manager. That was my first taste of Linux.

Windows came my way in an odd manner. I diskcopied as friend's 3 floppies for Win 3.1 before I discovered that was not legal. OS/2's 24 floppies came with WinOS2 for free, after all. I bought Win 95 and it was a big leap from Win 3 but didn't even come close to OS/2. When I couldn't get support for the AGP bus on Win95 and found it needed a 32KB file called USBSUPP.DLL and couldn't find that DLL I called MS and was told that one 32KB file for USB/AGP hardware support would cost me 50 smackers.... OR.... "why not be smart and just pay $80 to upgrade to Win98"? Maybe it was because mean old corporate monster IBM provided as many as 30 major revisions for free but that did it for me. I never paid MS another dime and never will.

So it was 1998 that I began looking into Linux. My local CompUSA had Mandrake CDs for sale so I bought one. I was a wretched noob and because I didn't yet understand the right and proper role of permissions, I couldn't get my modem to run for User, so I stupidly got online as root and began surfing IRC channels for Linux help. I asked some dumb question and was insulted and then REALLY insulted when someone stated "It's not my fault you have a ghetto box". Instantly I listed all my cool hardware and was told it wasn't my hardware that was ghetto but that I was "a ghetto Admin".

At first I was highly offended but then I realized it was actually true so I vowed to learn how to properly admin my boxes. I got O'Reilly books like Running Linux and Linux in a Nutshell and got Mandrake working decently, went back to IRC and began to converse intelligently and get solid answers as well as contribute some. Then one fateful day an RPM System Upgrade trashed my Mandrake and it took me 2 days to limp back to IRC from CLI (Thank You, BitchX) and I began asking in my favorite channels for distro recommendations. Four of the guys I respected and admired most told me "Slackware. Stuff just seems to compile right".

So I downloaded the images for v7 but after days of study and pre-planning v9 came out. So I got those and installed v9 and quickly learned stuff did "compile right". I absolutely loved the freedom and control and especially that no auto-bot would ever again do a system upgrade behind my back and assuming it knew better than me how I wanted my system to work. I knew that if anything ever broke, I did it and it was most likely the last thing I'd done that broke it, so I would know where to look for fixing it.

Having begun with DOS, Windows and OS/2 I was used to and very comfortable with multi-booting and Slackware played nicely with others, unlike Windows. Over the years I have tried perhaps as many as 20 full installs of other distros and countless Live systems. In many early cases I ruined them trying to make them behave like Slack. Then I decided to stop doing that and let them stand or fall on their own merits/limitations. At first I did learn from them because many were better at setting up hardware automatically back in 2x kernel days and I learned how they did that, but still they all had that auto-dependency thing which was terribly convenient when it worked but absolute Hell when it didn't, plus, in order to prevent conflicts they had to put things in odd places, making control, let alone recovery, more obtuse and difficult. Meanwhile, with kernel 3x, Slack had become just as adept at discovering hardware but without all the convoluted hoops to jump through.

So, TLDR, after trying just about everything, Slackware is the one simple, direct freedom and control with the fewest compromises by far. I hope I die before it does, since I sincerely doubt any other OpSys will ever adapt to what I want so well.

My first Linux was Debian, but I switched to Slackware randomly about a year later (I think, version 8.0?). At that point, around 2004 I think, Ubuntu etc, was not yet a thing and there was no expectation of point and click installer - it was, if I remember well, pretty new even for Windows.

So I installed Slackware, spent considerable time customising everything the way I like it and never gave it a second thought since. I am familiar with it, it does everything I want it to do, does (almost) nothing I don't want it to and, basically, it works for me. I was never into trying out distros, if something works good for me, I have no intention changing it (I only last year decided to switch from Win XP to 7 on my laptop, for example. and only two months ago changed my phone from 2010 to a "smarter" one).

I've only been a 'Slacker' for little over a week, so I thought it'd be good to jump in on this.

Beginnings

My first brush with Linux came in the late 90's, as I flirted with the hacking scene. By the time I'd gotten proficient on Windows/DOS, Ubuntu had started making waves.

And for 12 years I ran Ubuntu. Version after version.

Why Did I Move?

Now, at 33, I've long outgrown Ubuntu. I feel its 'user friendly' approach patronizing. How many Ubuntu users run a minimal system as their daily driver, using 90% CLI programs and only have Blackbox WM running on X. It was time to look for something more UNIX-like.

I feel that Ubuntu & its variants, in their quest to achieve user friendliness, are doing little more than emulating Windows, and that I can't abide. They're dumbing down the system in order to make it more palatable for the masses. Linux is better than Windows. It deserves more than that.

I'm not big on eye-candy. Even as a developer, I prefer systems programming over applications. Definitely a 'function over form' kinda guy.

So, given my circumstances, my choice was clear: Gentoo, or Slackware. Yes, there is BSD - but I wanted to stay with Linux; it has become a firm friend over the years.

Conclusion

After a week on Slackware I'm totally in love with it. It's Linux at its best. I spent hours setting up OpenVPN and SSH on Ubuntu 16.04, and it was fairly unreliable most of the time. Took me 10mins on Slackware. It runs at boot-time. I don't have to think about it. Nice, friendly little daemon that it is.

Moral of the Story

Give me a good honest config file ANY day of the week! ;)

Great to hear!! I also love Slackware; it is my primary desktop. I started Slacking in 2004 (version 10.0).

I totally agree, on all points. Windows was made for the masses, to do as Microsoft wants, and that, by and large, is what the masses are forced to comply with, as they know little about the ins and outs of computers, and just want them to work. However, those of us who like to dig a little deeper find Windows to be a bit lacking, and the automagic config of most distros do much the same thing as Windows, and with much the same result: fighting the user on custom configurations.

I run KDE 5, and while it has a little eye candy, still gives me enough manual control that I am comfortable giving KDE some rein in automatically managing some functions. I am fine with that. What I'm not fine with is the auto-managing of system administration, with the resulting clusterf*** if it guesses wrong. Guess who has to clean up that mess? That's right, the user. It's sure not going to be the developers.

I've no intention of ever giving up Slackware. Like finding nirvana in operating systems, once you've found it, you stay there. And stay there I will, until it is no longer maintained (may that be never!)

I had a bum computer that would not stay up for for than a couple of days. Windows 3.1 was on its way out and this, my first computer was Windows 95. Quickly I learned to format and reload and that is what gave me the courage to try Linux. Got a Learn Linux in 24 Hr. book with a RedHat 5.0 disk and tried Linux but did not like it at all.

I then went back to Windows and looked for another Linux distro to try. Found a disk set at Business Depot in among the Shareware and bought it. It was a Walnut Creek disk set of Slackware Linux. I had not heard of Slackware at this point but I dual-booted Windows and Slackware for a little while. Finally I ended up going back and forth from Windows 95 to Slackware to Windows 98 to Slackware to Windows XP to Slackware to ... NO MORE WINDOWS FOR ME.

I download and try live Linux distros all the time but nothing appeals to me like Slackware does. Now I am comfortable with format, load Slackware, configure Slackware and so no fear now.

The only other disto/s I like are Puppy Linux but Slackware is my daily driver

I came to Slackware to escape the systemd and, a bit more importantly, the ridiculousness of all the other "big" distros [Debian, RedHat, Fedora, 'Buntu] and their derivatives. I also came to Slackware because I finally built up the knowledge base of L/U-Nix to be able to successfully install, configure, and run it. And, PV seems like a legitimately neat human-being, which is not something I can say about the majority of my fellow humans. (I'm more or less a pessimist)

I'm staying for the stability and independence. And Studioware/Slackermedia [which I am so glad I found] and the really great community of users. I have not seen this level of cooperation in any other distros' userbase. A few derivatives, maybe, but not the parent projects.

I wish I had made it to Slackware sooner. I'd likely have twice the knowledge/expertise as I do now. But, you gotta start somewhere.

I'm currently running Slackware64 on one of 3 rigs. Crappy, awkward, HP Pavilion g series g4. This rig has given me nothing but problems running other distro's, Audio in particular. Installed Slackware and BAM! it just works. Not only that, but it runs faster, even using KDE (though I prefer xfce, KDE isnt exactly spry on this box). Even firefox is surprisingly snappy. And I was under the impression that you had to be fluent in no less than 5 programming languages and never leave the CLI in order to run slackware. Luckily, for me, the reputation of being "Legendary Difficulty" doesn't appear to be deserved.

Slackware is soon to be installed on all my other systems (a little Dell Mini netbook and an Alienware M17x). I'll be dual booting Win7Ultimate on the Alienware (still a handfull of games that I can't quite get to work under Linux).

I still plan on keeping tabs on tinyCore, Puppy, antiX/MX, LinuxBBQ (more of a community than a distro), and Void, but, I think I can finally stop hopping distros.

I'm almost bummed with how well put together Slackware is. I installed, rebooted, configured, updated, installed some slackbuilds (Studioware), and now I just have a fully functional system that seems to require little to no attention from me. That's an unfamiliar feeling LOL. Like, it just works now. Other distro's would have me updating, reconfiguring, reinstalling, etc. at least every couple days or so.

Oh, yeah, and the fact that slackware is a complete package, with all the development libraries/tools installed in a base install is pretty great. No installing additional software or libraries to start getting down with some programming. Its all just there. Waiting for me to learn how to use it.

I really just can't say how delighted I am to finally be with Slackware and the community. I hope to be able to contribute with more than just kind words in the future.

Long Live Slackware!

My first proper intro to using Linux was Ubuntu Intrepid Ibex. I had messed around with LiveCD's just a year before it's release. But this one i actually installed, and it was great at the time. I absolutely loved it. Although, i became to hate Ubuntu as months went by, as the release cycles usually caused broken updates, making you (recommending) you do a fresh install. So i started distro-hopping to find something different. After reinstalling a new distro pretty much every 3 weeks or so, i settled with Arch and FreeBSD on a dual boot. I really loved the simplicity in RC style configs to manage system daemons etc. Arch was ok, and i had a good experience with its KISS attitude to software, however systemd came along and i literally went and installed Slackware for permanent use.

I've always loved FreeBSD, and it would be my OS of choice -- but it does lack in some hardware support compared to Linux. After having used the ports system and the PKGBUILDS in Arch Linux, i immediately fell in love with Slackware slackbuild scripts. It's an almost identical concept. I've also come to love lack of dependency tracking.

I initially found it hard to manage, so i did run Salix for a while to help get into Slackware, and that was great too. I think i've been running Slack fulltime for almost 5 years now.

Slackware is definitely my favourite Linux distro. But i do feel i prefer FreeBSD in many ways, it just isn't as viable for modern hardware/desktop use in some areas. Why Slackware? Because it's Linux done right. It has so much in common with FreeBSD i feel, and that FreeBSD is a descendent of UNIX, Slackware must be the most UNIX like Linux distro out there.

I started to use Slackware because I wanted to learn more how GNU/Linux worked. I now use Slackware because no other well supported distro will allow me as much freedom to have it my way. Most distros rather hold your hand and tell you what you can or can not do while Slackware won't complain if I want to break my system by removing glibc. :)

Member response
 

Hi,

I contributed to this thread earlier and have followed to see fellow LQ members who find Slackware their OS. I wanted a stable, configurable and reliable UNIX-like OS that did not cost me an arm & leg or wasted time. Slackware has been my OS since PV's first release and will continue as long as PV maintains this great Gnu/Linux.

It does amaze me that some find Slackware difficult and will not recommend to a newbie. I say that with LQ Slackware forum and the great contributing LQ members anyone should be able to test drive via a Slackware64 Live ISO. If you want Slackware -current then use for 32 bit Slackware ISO

You can get loads of information for Slackware Live at; https://docs.slackware.com/slackware:liveslak?s

Hope this helps.
Have fun & enjoy!
:hattip:

I was running FreeBSD on my personal computers in the mid-90s, but I felt my choices in terms of hardware compatibility and software availability for common tasks were somewhat lacking (in comparison to Windows, which was why I didn't totally abandon Windows until sometime between XP and Vista, and have never looked back since). It was about this time I heard of this new OS called Linux. Tried other distros, but systemd wasn't around back then; other distro's System V init scripts turned me off. My choice of Slackware was because its init system was similar to FreeBSD's. Nevertheless, I stuck with Slackware over FreeBSD for much the same reason as you -- the hardware (and software!) support isn't where Linux's is.

I'm with you on Slackware being the most UNIX-like out there; it is indeed Linux done right. However, because of its steep learning curve, and its heavy reliance on the command line for even the simplest administration task, scares many a new user away, preferring other distros to do the work of configuration and maintenance for them. However, I find that Slackware is the best precisely because it places the responsibility of administering your system in your hands, so that you control what updates occur and when,and not entrusting it to some mega-corporation (not naming names!) which doesn't care in the least about the end user, and will do what it wants, when it wants, how it wants.

It's not like it's all that difficult to keep up with updates, anyway. I use an RSS feed program (QuiteRSS) to keep track of updates in the slackware64-current ChangeLog (which I follow), and then use the excellent slackpkg to do the updates. Couldn't be simpler, IMO.

Long live Slackware!