I read as "Arch Linux drops support for GNOME" and my heart fluttered
I did the same even though I had seen this headline before
Hopefully other software doesn't follow this path, otherwise it will be practically impossible to run a distro without systemd.
It will keep coming.
For GNOME, I think Chimera Linux is working in something with Turnstile that non-Systemd distros can use to get it working again.
what is the argument against using systemd?
It does too many things too well.
It's a large and very complicated piece of software with a single implementation. It's practically impossible to fork, so users are forced to adopt whatever changes the maintainers decide to implement. This could include things like forced dependencies (incompatible with mulb libc for example), or other poor design choices (like binary logging, which is very controversial). And it forces its adoption in places that do not want it (as in cases like the one we're discussing here, where it's becoming harder and harder for Gnome to be used without it).
I'm not going to argue about whether systemd is good software or not. But the biggest problem with it is that it's basically a way for Red Hat to exert control over the entire Linux ecosystem.
Think of it like Chrome/Chromium. Everybody naïvely thought we were never be where we are today when it was announced, but look at where we are today. While it's technically open source and an excellent browser, above all, it's a tool for Google to exert its control over the WWW, such as disabling adblockers, implementing DRM, deciding which CSS/Javascript APIs should (or should not) be adopted, etc. systemd could very well be Red Hat's vehicle for imposing similar requirements on desktop Linux.
My guess (i dont understand it all that well) is that people are less again using systemd, than against a growing dependency on systemd. If something bad happens to it, it could drag down other big elements of the linux ecosystem with itself.
The prob here?
Dang, i knew this was gonna be problematic, but i thought it might've been fixable with an elogind type of approach. I don't use gnome myself, but it definitely sucks if you're someone who likes using gnome but doesn't want to use systemd. I'm a Void user myself, so i'm interested in seeing if the Void team ends up making the same decision as Artix.
My understanding is that it is fixable by just implementing a couple of APIs, but Artix barely has the resources to fix their own init system, so they aren't able to support such compatibility.
I dug up this link from June, which tells us why they made such a design choice of strong depressing on systemd.
https://blogs.gnome.org/adrianvovk/2025/06/10/gnome-systemd-dependencies/
Funny thing is every open source developer strives to support as many systems and platforms as possible, by following best practices and open standards, GNOME goes backwards.
Isn't systemd that open standard though?
Same with Wayland?
I'm sure all 12 users of artix will be very sad lol
Not really, I'm using kde.
"Some of you have probably seen the blog post a few months ago about how GNOME is more strongly depending on systemd."
"Standalone gnome applications will still continue to be packaged, but it is simply not feasible anymore to support gnome desktops without systemd."
What I always say when anyone tries to defend systemd but I just get shut down and talked down to because nobody wants to admit systemd lead person is on purpose influencing with flawed and unethical objectives/workflows that undermine actual openness and community efforts. He don't give af about the community.
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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).
Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.
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