tl;dr :
- Hexchat IRC client app development stopped
- Linux Mint team was building IRC client to replace Hexchat
- The team tried Matrix and liked it
- Linux Mint’s communication channels are moving from IRC to Matrix
- The desktop app will be named Matrix to avoid confusion
You’re not the only user. Other people may benefit even if you personally don’t. Getting software you don’t want is a compromise for getting an easy out the box installation that comes with what you want already pre-installed.
If you want a more personalized approach there’s always forking a distro and customizing it so that it suits your needs (which is how Nobara came into being).
If that was the case they would add a step in the installation giving you the option to have no preinstalled apps and choose between currated apps based on your expected use for this pc.
I dont argue that its a great service. I am slightly opposed on it being a forced option
Mint is aimed at normies. The fewer barriers to entry, the better. If you give users the option for a “clean” install there will be people who select it, not knowing what they’re doing, and then end up with a borderline non-functional computer as far as they’re concerned. To put it another way, they expect it to have stuff pre-installed. Finally, what counts as essentials and what counts as bloat? Text editor? Media player? Photo viewer? Internet browser?
That being said, I understand why you might not like getting extra programs you didn’t ask for. Luckily, they’re very easy to uninstall and forget about.
Agreed! Manjaro, for example, does exactly that - in its Hello menu that is turned on after installation, it offers you to select which of the common apps you’d like to install.
Just check what you need and there you go, bloat-free easy start.