Twitch is a really active community. A little bit playful, a little bit spammy, but it's a community. With the introduction of last year's Twitch Plays Pokemon, the community's ability to work together was put to the test. This year, it will once again be tested with the Arch Linux installation.
Building on the concept of Twitch Plays Pokemon, Twitch Installs Arch Linux will allow Twitch users to install the independently developed GNU/Linux distribution (32-bit) on a virtual box by using Twitch's native chat system. Normally, the whole installation process should take just over 10 minutes from partitioning the hard drive down to unmounting the root device and rebooting the system to get to the bootloader.
Granted that everyone knows what they're doing, it should be done within the quoted time. Twitch Installs, the event sponsor, wants people to participate to educate themselves first. "Beginners Guide to Arch Linux," "Arch Linux Wiki" and a "Comprehensive List of Bash Commands for Linux" are all suggested reads. However, if reading is not your forte and you need a visual aid, refer to the video below for a nice and crisp tutorial on how to install Arch Linux.
Note that while Arch Linux can be installed fairly easily by simply typing in the proper commands, it also opens up an entirely new lobby for trolling; wiping the disk is just the start of it. With Twitch Plays Pokemon, 80,000 viewers tuned in and 10 percent were participating. One troll out of the prospected 80,000 participants can make everything go south. Hence, while it is a test of cooperation, the real question is whether everyone's views are aligned or not.
To motivate the community to work together, Twitch Installs will give out prices when the specified milestones are reached. Below is the list.
- Boot Arch Linux from the hard disk
- Write a python 'Hello World!' script
- Configure a fully working X server
- Pull up the Twitch screen in the virtual machine!
- Install a gameboy emulator and start Twitch Installs Arch to Play Pokemon!
- Install irssi and join the #twitchinstalls freenode chat!
The event is scheduled to start on Oct. 31 at 4 p.m. EST.
