54 lines
2.4 KiB
Markdown
54 lines
2.4 KiB
Markdown
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---
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title: Stop Using Politics As A Cudgel To Discourage Experimentation
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date: 2022-04-21
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tags:
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- rant
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- systemd
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- communityhealth
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---
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So let's say you get bored one day and you decide you want to do things that god
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and man have decreed impossible. Let's also say that this exact thing involves a
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tool that just happens to rustle all of the jimmies (for reasons that are not
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entirely clear). Then you get it all to a point where you want to submit it
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upstream so you can get help experimenting with this tool.
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So you submit it to upstream in the experimental branch, expecting very little
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pushback so you can get help tinkering with things. But once you submit it
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upstream, [all hell breaks
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loose](https://gitlab.alpinelinux.org/alpine/aports/-/merge_requests/33329).
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Stop using politics as a cudgel to discourage experimentation. Yes it involves
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systemd. Just because you think that the tool is overcomplicated doesn't mean
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that other people don't find it useful. Trying to shut down experimentation is
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how you get people to leave the community or give up participating in open
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source altogether.
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The reactions in that thread are both disappointing and somewhat to be expected.
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I don't know why people have such a negative reaction to systemd. It's just an
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init system, not a religion. It wouldn't have become a good choice for so much
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of the Linux ecosystem without it having solid technical merits. If it is really
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that bad then the mantle of responsibility is on you for coming up with a better
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option.
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[No, OpenRC is not that option. It can be PART OF an option, but it is not a
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competitor by itself.](conversation://Cadey/coffee)
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I know I said I'd stop ranting on this blog as much, but really this stuff
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grinds my gears and I feel that I should use my platform for good in this
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regard. This is inexcusable. I want to reiterate that I have _no_ power in this
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regard. I am just some random person on a blog that got frustrated at the
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reactions to this contribution. Some pushback is acceptable. Accusing a
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contributor of ignorance is inexcusable. Comments like this have no place in
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open source contributions:
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> SysTemD is the STD of operating systems. There is no "one little poke", you
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> can't be a little bit pregnant.
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Jake, if you're out there reading this: keep doing this thing. It is a fantastic
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creation that I thought was impossible. You may have to soft-fork the
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distribution to get this to work reliably, but I really want to see where this
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rabbit-hole goes.
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Keep hacking.
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