For: Linux distro developers
Subject: Switched my Linux distro to XLibre

This is a copy of a post that I made just now in the Github issues section for XLibre. Link to the original post:
github.com/orgs/X11Libre/discu…

I've been developing a Linux distro, #Laclin, for 30 years. In the past 24 hours, I've switched, for now, from the old #Xorg framework to #XLibre. This includes, so far, xserver and some of the video drivers. I'll comment below on the rest.

This is my desktop running on XLibre:

The desktop is original. The parts add up to only a few MB. I like light and stable. I'm not a fan of sumo-wrestler size layers that gobble up GB of RAM and drag performance down to Windows level.

I'm also the type that holds up a cross and recites "Get thee behind me, Satan" when I see systemd and Wayland. No offense to fans of systemd and Wayland is intended. But I don't plan to switch to either. So, XLibre is a positive development.

I've had no "build" or runtime issues with XLibre xserver so far. I needed to switch some of the video drivers to the XLibre forks in order to get them to build. I'd switch other components as well, but here's the thing:

Did I mention that I have 30 years of work invested in the distro? I don't want to break 2,000 packages.

The distro includes legacy packages, some of which no other distro has. The code goes back as far as the 1990s. [The 1970s to 1980s, in a few cases.] If XLibre drops ".pc" or ".la" files [as I gather it did in one case] the packages won't build. [Yes, I understand that that change was reverted.]

So, I have four requests:

1. Keep up the good work. The fork needs to continue or the distros that are switching will be between a rock and a hard place.
2. Prioritize backwards compatibility to the extent that old packages can be built in the new framework.
3. Use of systemd should be optional.
4. Set up a #Fediverse account and post there. LibreOffice, The GIMP, G'MIC, Project Gutenberg, Internet Archive, Dillo, LibreWolf, and many other projects do. It's a FOSS friendly environment.

The desktop in the screenshot is based on jwm with features added using lightweight scripts. It's got Start button, Boss button, taskbar, workspaces, systray, launch buttons, and dockapps. Plus Alt-Tab and single-instance support. I figure that that is most of what is needed.

It runs fine so far in XLibre. I'm not going to port 30 years of work to a new framework [Wayland] that intentionally breaks things and that isn't going to support old software or hardware.