On the technical side of things, I can see both sides of the argument regarding old-style init VS systemd (and other alternatives like Canonicals Upstart).
I can see the need for a replacement for init, and I can also see the downsides of systemd. There are some valid technical points raised on both sides. Personally, as long as my machine boots to the OS, I don't really care which system is in use!
The negativity and aggression in the community regarding this issue is a shame. But at the same time, it is almost inevitable. Both sides are extremely passionate about their positions on the issue. Those passions ran over, confrontations occurred and insults were exchanged.
Also remember that it is this same passion that drives the development of free software. If nobody cared that much, what state would the software be in?? Would free software even exist as it does today without people with those levels of passion?
In any community, you will get a minority of, pardon my Welsh, "A-holes", it happens everywhere. Some people have more abrasive personalities than others, that is just a fact of life. At the same time, some people are too easily offended and need to get a thicker s.k.i.n! (sorry had to spell that out to subvert the spam filter, for some reason that word is blocked!)
After all, what does it mean to be offended?
In the words of intellectual UK comic/TV presenter Stephen Fry:
“It's now very common to hear people say, 'I'm rather offended by that.' As if that gives them certain rights. It's actually nothing more than a whine. 'I find that offensive.' It has no meaning; it has no purpose; it has no reason to be respected as a phrase. 'I am offended by that.' Well, so f***ing what."
Now, I'm not trying to defend the systemd haters. Some of the posts that have been levelled at Lennart and the other systemd developers are repugnant and do go way over the line. But Flame-wars are as old as the internet itself. And this one was a particularly nasty one. It quickly got way out of hand.
"Inflated egos's figurative (not literal) public willy-waving in mailing lists" aside; things are at least moving on now. The systemd devs are carrying on with their work; Debian have decided to adopt systemd; and those in the Debian community who are vocally opposed to systemd have created a fork of Debian without it. Thus the circle of life in the free software world goes on.
What happens next? Only time will tell... Maybe systemd will continue to become ubiquitous and Devuan will fade into obscurity. Or perhaps the Devuan developers init will prove to be a better, cleaner system and will be re-absorbed into Debian in the future and accepted more widely. Perhaps the systemd devs work will be for naught. Or perhaps both will persist 'til time immemorial..... Who knows?! {grabs some popcorn and a brewski and sits to watch}
At the end of the day, if there is something you don't like in the free software world, you fork it and do things the way you want to. The good forks live on, the bad forks die out. It's like the free software version of evolution/natural selection. It's how the software gets better!
These kind of events always cause turbulence in the community. It is a shame it happens, especially when things get ugly and go so far. But it is almost always minorities from both sides who cause the most trouble. On the whole, most members of the various free software communities are polite, astute and benign!
All free software communities should expect other members to behave professionally, with respect towards one another. But at the same time the community should also be willing to accept that sometimes conflicts will occur and that some people will be a little more abrasive/offensive than others at times.
I don't see a problem with somebody venting a little during an online argument, like some of Linus' outbursts; but trolls should not be tolerated... Anybody who is constantly and mindlessly offensive for the sake of causing offence, they are the people who are truly toxic in communities.
As a programmer; when reviewing/looking at bad code I do sometimes think offensive things about whoever wrote the code. But when it comes to responding to the author of the code, I don't include those thoughts in my response. Instead I will mentally edit those thoughts out whilst composing my response, as I'm sure most other sane people do.
Whereas when somebody like Linus looks at bad code and gets upset; he just seems to type whatever thoughts enter his head, with no edits. That's just his thing. It's a part of his personality. He's not abrasive like that all the time - only when he gets upset. I think we should be able to accept that!
Also, sometimes you do just need to cut through the crap and get straight to the point! (as I should, instead of rambling away in these TLDR; walls of text I keep posting!)
When it comes to dealing with potentially offensive posts from abrasive characters, I always judge any technical comments in their posts on their technical merit. And any insults will simply be ignored.... Life's too short and precious to waste by dwelling on, or responding to comments from trolls. Sticks and stones and all that!
re: ChristiW's - Sexism in the community:
In this day and age I'm surprised to discover that this is still a huge problem. That said, I'm pretty certain you won't experience any problems like that here!
) and it shows on how the community accepts newcomers. Not to mention the 100's of hours spent writing tutorials and articles to help new and old users alike.Those tutorials & articles are an invaluable resource here and the staff writers should take a pat on the back for all the good work they've done.
I hope down the line I can be valued contributor and give back to this community as much as been freely given to me.
