Translations:FAQ/167/en
From Gentoo Wiki
Gentoo permits many alternatives for core (system) software, allowing users to adapt with ease the installation to their own needs and preferences - in fact, the user has almost complete control over which packages are installed, or left out. This is a key difference from many other distributions, which are often built around specific subsystems, which cannot be replaced. Because of Gentoo's flexibility, there are no "variants", "editions", "flavors", etc. - there is no need, as everything can be adapted for each use-case from the default installation.