The Philosophy of Gentoo
Every user has work they need to do. The goal of Gentoo is to design tools and
systems that allow a user to do that work as pleasantly and efficiently as possible,
as they see fit. Our tools should be a joy to use, and should help the user
to appreciate the richness of the Linux and free software community, and the
flexibility of free software. This is only possible when the tool is designed to reflect and
transmit the will of the user, and leave the possibilities open as to the final
form of the raw materials (the source code.) If the tool forces the user to do
things a particular way, then the tool is working against, rather than for, the
user. We have all experienced situations where tools seem to be imposing their
respective wills on us. This is backwards, and contrary to the Gentoo
philosophy.
Put another way, the Gentoo philosophy is to create better tools. When a tool
is doing its job perfectly, you might not even be very aware of its presence,
because it does not interfere and make its presence known, nor does it force
you to interact with it when you don't want it to. The tool serves the user
rather than the user serving the tool.
The goal of Gentoo is to strive to create near-ideal tools.
Tools that can accommodate the needs of many different users all with divergent
goals. Don't you love it when you find a tool that does exactly what you want to
do? Doesn't it feel great? Our mission is to give that sensation to as many
people as possible.
Daniel Robbins
Previous Chief Architect
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