I understand that you personally are fine with it, but this is apparently a trigger for me, so please accept my apology in advance for offering commentary.
if you don’t like it, you can use something else:
This is only really true for desktop PC hobbyists. SteamOS is responsible for a huge spike of Linux usage recently and that is Systemd-only. it’s true that you can install something else but it’ll be a significantly worse user experience. This is the case for basically any handheld Linux device, and all corporate investment is going to systemd based distros.
if systemd starts to get bad, less people will use it:
The alternatives are less polished and switching distros is a relatively costly proposition if you are not a hobbyist (in terms of opportunity cost and time spent without a functional computer). Handheld devices such as the steam deck are much less flexible as well.
I appreciate the apology in advance, but it is not necessary. I am happy to have a civilized conversation like we are having, even if we disagree.
To my knowledge, the arguments against systemd boil down to:
They recently added an option to ask for age verification, which distros do not have to use, and I believe they walked it back already.
It goes against the values of Linux to have a singular project be responsible for many functions instead of doing one small thing well.
It is large-ish for what it is, and could be more efficient with resources.
Now I’m not here to tell you to care or not to care, that’s your own prerogative. But think about the type of people who WOULD care, given the context? Is it gamers who bought a Steam Deck off the shelf and may not even know what Linux is? Or is it a specific subset of Linux enthusiasts who are a specific subset of PC enthusiasts who are a specific subset of people who use Linux machines? I think we can both agree it is the latter 99.9% of the time.
To your second point, you have more or less invalidated the 3rd possibility of not liking systemd. It simply works better in most cases. Alternatives are not that much worse or anything, that’s just what it is right now. COULD it potentially be better if it was the way we imagined it in our head? Maybe, but then just make your own version if you know how to make it better. But to really ANSWER your argument, by “less people will use it”, I mostly mean distro devs. It got forked immediately after the slightest hint of age verification. If it becomes an actual problem, you can bet it will swiftly be replaced by most distros, and non-tech people will not even realize it happened. Especially if that subset of Linux enthusiasts who don’t like it start jumping ship for others distros that don’t have it. Things change allll the time in Linux. Nothing is irreplaceable or unforkable.
I understand that you personally are fine with it, but this is apparently a trigger for me, so please accept my apology in advance for offering commentary.
This is only really true for desktop PC hobbyists. SteamOS is responsible for a huge spike of Linux usage recently and that is Systemd-only. it’s true that you can install something else but it’ll be a significantly worse user experience. This is the case for basically any handheld Linux device, and all corporate investment is going to systemd based distros.
The alternatives are less polished and switching distros is a relatively costly proposition if you are not a hobbyist (in terms of opportunity cost and time spent without a functional computer). Handheld devices such as the steam deck are much less flexible as well.
I appreciate the apology in advance, but it is not necessary. I am happy to have a civilized conversation like we are having, even if we disagree.
To my knowledge, the arguments against systemd boil down to:
Now I’m not here to tell you to care or not to care, that’s your own prerogative. But think about the type of people who WOULD care, given the context? Is it gamers who bought a Steam Deck off the shelf and may not even know what Linux is? Or is it a specific subset of Linux enthusiasts who are a specific subset of PC enthusiasts who are a specific subset of people who use Linux machines? I think we can both agree it is the latter 99.9% of the time.
To your second point, you have more or less invalidated the 3rd possibility of not liking systemd. It simply works better in most cases. Alternatives are not that much worse or anything, that’s just what it is right now. COULD it potentially be better if it was the way we imagined it in our head? Maybe, but then just make your own version if you know how to make it better. But to really ANSWER your argument, by “less people will use it”, I mostly mean distro devs. It got forked immediately after the slightest hint of age verification. If it becomes an actual problem, you can bet it will swiftly be replaced by most distros, and non-tech people will not even realize it happened. Especially if that subset of Linux enthusiasts who don’t like it start jumping ship for others distros that don’t have it. Things change allll the time in Linux. Nothing is irreplaceable or unforkable.