On Sat, Sep 20, 2014 at 10:12:51PM -0700, Don Armstrong wrote: > On Sat, 20 Sep 2014, Jerry Stuckle wrote: > > Then please explain to us why, with all of the negative technical > > aspects surrounding systemd, it looks to be the default init in > > Jessie. > > You can start by reading why I voted for systemd: > https://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=727708#3661
When I read through most of these postings, I find two types of responses: technical and political. Technical responses deal with the minutae of the advantages and disadvantages of adopting systemd. Political responses are concerned with the behavior of the systemd developers, and the advisability, by adopting systemd, of giving this group power over every Debian user's operating system. Posts expressing concern about losing political control of Debian to paid-for software developers, Russ Alberry derides as subscribing to the "Red Hat conspiracy theory" which he labels as "toxic." To me that expresses the root of the controversy. The technical committee gets its name for a role in resolving technical issues. However a decision to adopt systemd (or not) has a political dimension as well. As the Debian community, are we to repose our trust in any group who offers modest technical accomplishments? Especially when the developers have shown attitudes and behaviors incompatible with the core values of our community? Especially where the beneficiaries are developers of desktop environments and represent only a tiny fraction of the user base? Especially when the technical approach goes against the principles of decades of development. In unhealthy personal relationships there are signs that things are going badly. Here we have plenty of evidence from the systemd developers' behavior to raise questions. Many of us see it as a bare-faced power grab. That is a political conclusion and political language. I think it's incorrect to pigeonhole and reject such considerations as toxic. We have a specific term for software that is invited for one purpose and accomplishes another: a Trojan Horse. It may be appropriate to apply this term to systemd: a large, opaque system that must be swallowed whole, under the control of an unaccountable group with questionable motives. In a healthy community I would expect movers and shakers to at least acknowledge the legitimate concerns of the user base. Respectfully, Joel Roth -- -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to debian-user-requ...@lists.debian.org with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact listmas...@lists.debian.org Archive: https://lists.debian.org/20140921184817.GA4905@sprite
