The AUR is not indispensable for Arch, and it is not recommended. The Arch Wiki itself says so, and it even recommends against AUR helpers, because it makes the AUR feel like any other official repo. Some Arch based distros do include AUR helpers by default, and that’s on them.
Arch isn’t even that recommended, and it’s only mentioned above other distros in the gaming sphere because it usually has the freshest drivers and innovations due to being bleeding edge. It is also easy to install and easy to use, and for almost any issue you can consult the Arch Wiki or the Arch Forums.
Either way, we should never limit user freedom in the name of making it “safer” for any user, and we shouldn’t be installing guardrails that limit what you can do with your OS. That’s the difference between Windows/Mac and Linux. Linux allows freedom, while the others limit it. The “guardrails” are already there, in the Arch Wiki, as a pretty visible warning. If a user doesn’t read the recommendations from the official wiki, that’s on them.
As an aside, your gun analogy is not valid. A gun is a dangerous tool with which a user can hurt themselves, but also other people. Allowing freedom on a Linux distro is just a way of allowing the user to shoot themselves in the foot (like it has always been possible, one way or another, in every Linux distro). But it doesn’t allow the user to hurt others. Let’s not do these comparisons.
The AUR is not indispensable for Arch, and it is not recommended. The Arch Wiki itself says so, and it even recommends against AUR helpers, because it makes the AUR feel like any other official repo. Some Arch based distros do include AUR helpers by default, and that’s on them.
Arch isn’t even that recommended, and it’s only mentioned above other distros in the gaming sphere because it usually has the freshest drivers and innovations due to being bleeding edge. It is also easy to install and easy to use, and for almost any issue you can consult the Arch Wiki or the Arch Forums.
Either way, we should never limit user freedom in the name of making it “safer” for any user, and we shouldn’t be installing guardrails that limit what you can do with your OS. That’s the difference between Windows/Mac and Linux. Linux allows freedom, while the others limit it. The “guardrails” are already there, in the Arch Wiki, as a pretty visible warning. If a user doesn’t read the recommendations from the official wiki, that’s on them.
As an aside, your gun analogy is not valid. A gun is a dangerous tool with which a user can hurt themselves, but also other people. Allowing freedom on a Linux distro is just a way of allowing the user to shoot themselves in the foot (like it has always been possible, one way or another, in every Linux distro). But it doesn’t allow the user to hurt others. Let’s not do these comparisons.