Table of Contents
Quick Summary
- The XLibre project page was removed from the Arch Wiki because the project's official documentation was found to be in direct violation of the Arch Linux Code of Conduct (CoC) regarding respect for other FOSS projects.
- Specifically, the project's website used inflammatory language, accusing the Xorg project of being stifled by "toxic elements" and "moles from BigTech".
- While some users argue this removal was a political move or censorship, the wiki staff maintain that they are enforcing a standard that prohibits "unproductive slander" and the maligning of other open-source contributors.
Introduction
Recently, the Arch Linux team removed the XLibre project page from their official wiki. This move sparked a heated debate across the Arch Linux community.
Many users wonder why a technical page would suddenly disappear. As it turns out, the reason has more to do with community rules than technical code.
What is XLibre?
XLibre is a fork of the Xorg display server. Enrico Weigelt, a former Xorg contributor, started the project to modernize the aging X11 system. He aimed to clean up old code and improve performance.
However, the project's official website uses very aggressive language. It claims that "toxic elements" and "moles from BigTech" are intentionally trying to destroy Xorg. The site even uses the slogan, "Together we'll make X great again!".
The Arch Linux Code of Conduct
Arch Linux follows a strict Code of Conduct (CoC) to keep its community helpful and welcoming. This document sets the "minimum necessary standards" for how members should interact.
The CoC has a specific section on Respect. It clearly states that users must respect other operating systems and projects. Specifically, the rules prohibit "maligning other FOSS projects" or using "unproductive slander".
Why ArchWiki Admins Deleted the XLibre Page
ArchWiki admins deleted the XLibre page because the project’s official stance violated these respect rules. Staff members pointed out that XLibre has been inflammatory toward Xorg since it began. They noted that the project "officially and glaringly" smears other open-source developers on its main "About" page.
In the Arch community, staff members have the final say. They are responsible for keeping order and a "high signal-to-noise ratio". Because the XLibre project uses its platform to attack others, the staff decided it did not deserve a place in official Arch documentation.
Community Discussions Vanish
Interestingly, the main wiki page is not the only thing that has disappeared. We found that official forum threads about the removal also vanished from the live site.
For example, the actual thread "Why was xlibre archwiki page was removed?" now only exists in the Wayback Machine.
This cleanup follows the Arch team's strict rules against "ineffective discussion" or "bikeshedding". The Code of Conduct allows staff to close or remove debates that do not help the project.
Arch Wiki admins have already closed several topics and even banned users who kept arguing after the case was settled.
A similar discussion on the Arch Linux subreddit was locked by moderators because the conversation "devolved so quickly into nonsense" and violated the community's standards.
Can the Page Return?
There is still hope for fans of the project. Wiki administrators mentioned that the page could return if the XLibre team changes its tone. If the project "tones down" its homepage and removes the attacks against other developers, the staff might restore the page.
Right now, XLibre is listed only under the Display Server section of General Recommendations page in Arch Wiki.
You can read the full discussion in the following link:
Users Can Still Install XLibre on Arch Linux
The removal of the wiki page does not stop you from using the software. If you want to install XLibre, you can still find it in the Arch User Repository (AUR).
- Check the AUR: The
xlibre-serverpackage is still available. - Read Pinned Comments: Technical details for Arch users are now kept in the pinned comments of the AUR package.
- Visit the Source: You can visit the official XLibre site, but be careful. The website currently says the AUR package is unsupported, even though the project's own README says it is official.
Recommended Read: Install XLibre X11 Server on Fedora and Enterprise Linux
Conclusion
Arch Linux values a respectful and inclusive environment. While XLibre offers an interesting technical alternative to Xorg, its official communication broke the community's "Respect" policy.
For now, Arch users can still access the tool, but they will have to look outside the official wiki for help.
6 comments
I’m not really choosing sides here but I do find the timing of all these DE’s dropping X11 interesting. It’s almost as if they all got together and planned all this. And Wayland is STILL not 100% ready IMHO. Still too many things that either don’t work correctly or (in some cases) not at all – but it still feels as if Wayland is being shoved down our throats, whether we asked for it or not. I wonder if we would still see the same adoption rate if we were given a choice.
I find the timing not really interesting but rather predictable, X11 is a large codebase, that is a burden to maintain, not really fit to serve its purpose to such a degree that maintainers have moved on to Wayland.
And Wayland has been around since 2008 or 2012 depending on what one wants to count as the beginning, that is alot of time to mature. And the fruits of ongoing development show results, it’s becoming default for many DE’s and Distros, slowly but surely.
Some less mainstream use-cases still don’t work in a way to be considered good-enough, accessibility is still a large work-in-progress but for much of what an average user interacts with it seems to suffice – something I experience and agree with.
And about “Wayland being forced”, I don’t really feel entitled to tell maintainers what they can or ought to support or not to support, I choose my Distro and DE according to my needs or wants, that is the choice we endusers all have.
And X11 will not go away for years, it might not be the default anymore, become more niche but LTS/ stability-focused distros will keep it around, not to mention user-contributed/community repositories.
Is this an AI-generated article?
No. The idea is mine. I wrote the actual draft and then fixed the grammar, improved the clarity of the article with the help of AI (Claude).
I expect the ONLY “CoC Violation” the XLibre project committed was daring to defy the socialist wing of the open source “community”. Need to obey their masters at IBM/RH/Canonical/Gnome/etc. Can’t have the users thinking they have any rights or freedom of choice.
Linux is about freedom and anti establishment so this trumpian tilt to the right is concerning. Particularly when distros adopt it without community discussions nor technical reasoning.