About

BTW I Use Arch is a catchphrase used to make fun of the type of person who feels superior because they use a more difficult Linux distribution. Memes about ArchLinux users being nerds have appeared online as early as 2011 and are likely inspired by troubleshooting posts by Arch users trying to maintain the OS. The memes became increasingly popularized on Linux-based subreddits around 2018.

Origin

Arch Linux is a Linux distribution published in 2002. The idea behind ArchLinux is that it follows the KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) principle, meaning it has a very simple yet customizable interface. It is not considered very user-friendly and requires dedication to learn, but has a large community of users. Because of its difficulty curve, Arch users began to gain a reputation as nerds and memes began to appear making fun of Arch users as the type of people who use their knowledge of Arch as a flex. An early example was uploaded to Twitter^[1] by @xylit0l on November 29th, 2011, and shows a shirtless nerd hitting on a woman in a park, saying "hey there did you know that I use ArchLinux?" (shown below).

The exact origin of the phrase "I use Arch btw" is unknown, but seems to have begun on Reddit threads like /r/linuxmasterrace and /r/linuxquestions. One of the earliest posts using the phrase was posted to /r/linuxmasterrace^[2] on June 24th, 2017, and uses the Mocking SpongeBob format, gaining over 260 upvotes in four years (shown below). It is titled "When an arch user comments."

Spread

The joke spread across Linux-based Reddit pages over the following years used to tease Arch users and users of difficult distributions who feel superior because of it. On September 26th, 2018, Redditor TheProgrammar89 posted a Floating Boy Chasing Running Boy using the phrase to /r/linuxmasterrace,^[3] gaining over 1,600 upvotes in three years (shown below, left). On October 30th, Twitter^[5] user archlinuxmemes posted a meme using the phrase (shown below, right).

On November 16th, Redditor^[4] SusuKacangSoya commented a possible explanation of the meme's origin, writing, "Someone gave the following narrative: That when Arch was new, it was distrusted by the rest of the community because of some stability, etc. issues. However, as it got more and more usable, Arch users began telling everyone else that they were using Arch, to bring more awareness about Arch and prove that it's usable (they were using it just fine, after all). With this strategy released onto the wild, rolling across the community, Arch's usage share quickly went from laughable to that of major distribution. Of course, with the end goal completed, the meme is supposed to be obsolete, but… it stuck, its original purpose lost to time." On August 6th, 2020, Instagram^[6] page linuxtechtips uploaded a Swole Doge vs. Cheems meme using the phrase, gaining over 1,900 likes in a year (shown below).

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References