Well yeah, but I want to know any tips on doing it effectively. If I just "don't install a DE" I wouldn't know where to go from there.

Thanks a lot, I'll definitely try the terminal multiplexers you're talking about. I wondered how you would get different windows in tty.

I've found sc-im to be very useful, but I'm still a little new to it. Visidata is another one that seems to be a lot more powerful than sc-im.

Yes, I know how to this. I think the way I'm saying it is confusing so let me explain. I know how to install a minimal system without a GUI, however I needed advice on the tools to be able to run this system effectively (i.e. tmux, byobu, and other things people have been mentioning).

What are these serial terminals you're talking about?

Great list, thank you!

Messaging, reading, school work, watching anime, music, web browsing (may not be able to do this one nicely though). My use cases are very simple to implement on tty-only I think.

I actually am using a manual Arch install. What i meant by gaining confidence is completely abandoning xorg and using the tty only.

I was able to use mpv to watch some anime I had downloaded on tty. Does this mean this was only possible because I already had xorg installed and running (I was using qtile prior to that)? I'm not sure if that's how that works though.

Yes I'm familiar with mpv. I thought I needed to have xorg or a display server running for it to work, thanks!

I'll look into that, thanks.