This is exactly what I was looking for. The more I read it, the angrier I get. The fact that something as simple as a text document format can be force standardized, monopolized, and overcharged for is ludicrous. All because of a proprietary extension loophole.
Thank you for the info.
As a (currently) CachyOS user, I would like to point out that their custom mirrors don’t always reflect the newest version of packages, too. So if your package has a bug you may have to wait an extra day or two for it to reflect the fixed version after it drops. That or manually install the git.
Just make love with Timeshift and for the love of god don’t use topgrade if you don’t know what you’re doing. Thankfully, because of rule number one, Timeshift told me the topgrade nightmare was over and tucked me back into bed with a glass of warm milk and a bedtime story.