alt Hacker NewsThe article makes one key mistake, in that it compares systemd to openrc. Aka some monster-system with billion features, to a fairly small system that juts relates to initializing a few things.
The whole debate about systemd has always been very dishonest from the systemd devs. If you have 3 million lines of code, for instance, and offer 5000 features, just to give out semi-random numbers, then every alternative with, say, 100.000 lines of code and only 50 features, will lose out by definition. Systemd has NEVER been solely or primarily been an "init" system. People need to stop buying the propaganda 1:1. That includes self-promo.
It is the same with age sniffing; some still believe it is about protecting kids. Then they were flabbergasted when governments - who suspiciously smell like corporate-controlled governments by the way, in particular in the UK - declare total war against VPNs. The excuse they use is not convincing at all, IF you buy into the assumption that this is about kids (which it is not).
On the other hand, when systemd decided to support age sniffing (https://github.com/systemd/systemd/pull/40954), I guess they went a step too far. People who weren't against systemd, look at it differently now. After all why is Poettering so defensive about systemd supporting age sniffing? All that tasty data that is to be amassed. Some private entities love that data. You have become the product.
As for "alternatives" to systemd, which is a misnomer IMO: I found that all the alternatives are pretty bad too. The best option is to try to stay as lean as possible without losing things that are objectively useful. Any init system that depends on shell scripts, already is a failure by design. (Systemd's unit files are also a failure; and the lack of transparency too. It is like the ultimate trojan horse.)
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> The whole debate about systemd has always been very dishonest from the systemd devs.
What did they debate? What about it was dishonest?
> If you have 3 million lines of code, for instance, and offer 5000 features, just to give out semi-random numbers, then every alternative with, say, 100.000 lines of code and only 50 features, will lose out by definition.
Why? Just because average lines of code per feature are by a factor of 5 or so lower for systemd in your example? What is the definition they will lose out on? Also unclear to me what you are referring to with 5000 feature to generate random numbers...
> It is the same with age sniffing; some still believe it is about protecting kids. Then they were flabbergasted when governments - who suspiciously smell like corporate-controlled governments by the way, in particular in the UK - declare total war against VPNs. The excuse they use is not convincing at all, IF you buy into the assumption that this is about kids (which it is not).
What about it is sniffing if a person voluntarily enters that data to be shared with a service so they can use it? What is it about then if not kids? It sounds like you think all governments who think about enforcing age restrictions online have some shared hidden agenda.
> On the other hand, when systemd decided to support age sniffing (https://github.com/systemd/systemd/pull/40954), I guess they went a step too far. People who weren't against systemd, look at it differently now. After all why is Poettering so defensive about systemd supporting age sniffing? All that tasty data that is to be amassed. Some private entities love that data. You have become the product.
It's linux, you can disable it or not enter your date. Alternative would have been that you are not able to use certain online services in those strict jurisdictions or that any tool that wants to support these services comes with their own implementation.
> As for "alternatives" to systemd, which is a misnomer IMO
Why? It's a daemon (and more) managing your system.
> Systemd's unit files are also a failure; and the lack of transparency too.
Why are they a failure? Which lack of transparency?
How does a field carrying age sniffing? It's open source, you personally run whatever you want.
But not all places are like that, Linux is run in places where abusing this law is mandated. The alternative is that that place can't run Linux - so by denying such a feature you actually deny the usage of Linux, limiting "user-freedom".
You are by no ways hurt if you choose to either ignore the law or live in a place where such laws won't be passed.
(With that said, I'm absolutely against age verification - but that in and of itself won't change the law)