14 DAY TRIAL // The Debian project decided to adopt systemd a while ago and ditch the upstart counterpart. The decision was very controversial and it's still contested by some users. Now, a new proposition has been made, to fork Debian into something that doesn't have systemd.
systemd is the replacement for the init system and it's the daemon that starts right after the Linux kernel. It's responsible for initiating all the other components in a system and it's also responsible for shutting them down in the correct order, so you might imagine why people think this is an important piece of software.
The discussions in the Debian community have been very heated, but systemd prevailed and it looked like the end of it. Linux distros based on it have already started to make the changes. For example, Ubuntu is already preparing to adopt systemd, although it's still pretty far off.
Forking Debian, not really a solution
Developers have already forked systemd, but the projects resulted don't have a lot of support from the community. As you can imagine, systemd also has a big following and people are not giving up so easily. Now, someone has made a website called debianfork.org to advocate for a Debian without systemd, in an effort to put pressure on the developers.
"We are Veteran Unix Admins and we are concerned about what is happening to Debian GNU/Linux to the point of considering a fork of the project. Some of us are upstream developers, some professional sysadmins: we are all concerned peers interacting with Debian and derivatives on a daily basis. We don't want to be forced to use systemd in substitution to the traditional UNIX sysvinit init, because systemd betrays the UNIX philosophy."
"We contemplate adopting more recent alternatives to sysvinit, but not those undermining the basic design principles of 'do one thing and do it well' with a complex collection of dozens of tightly coupled binaries and opaque logs," reads the website, among a lot of other things.
Basically, the new website is not actually about a Debian fork, but more like a form of pressure for the upcoming vote that will be taken for the "Re-Proposal - preserve freedom of choice of init systems." This is a general resolution made by Ian Jackson and he hopes to get enough support in order to turn back the decision made by the Technical Committee regarding systemd.
It's clear that the debate is still not over in the Debian community, but it remains to be seen if the decisions already made can be overturned.