If you are using Gentoo one of the first things you need to do when you are installing (emerging) software is to define the use flags. Use flags are recepies for the system, which tell your Gentoo box how should it build its software. You can of course put all your use flags in /etc/portage/make.conf but the downside of that approach is that you will literally get all the use flags built as global features in every single package you compile with emerge. So, if you want to make a robust Gentoo box and reduce the packages size you will probably find yourself enabling use flags individually for every single package you will install. Continue reading →