Systemd abstracts so much stuff away that it does not feel like learning Linux "from scratch" :/

(I like having it in my daily driver, but it's sad LFS had to drop support for a "lower level" init system)

From the mail it doesn't exactly look like "upstream dependencies on systemd" but rather like a lack of features in sysvinit:

The second reason for dropping System V is that packages like GNOME and soon KDE's Plasma are building in requirements that require capabilities in systemd that are not in System V. This could potentially be worked around with another init system like OpenRC, but beyond the transition process it still does not address the ongoing workload problem.

So it seems a bit like sysvinit is simply a dead end and there is definitively not enough manpower for a transition to openrc/elogind/whatever...and it's a good chance to consolidate the exiting workforce on a single version. Sounds all pretty reasonable to me. But it can't really serve as example for systemd being an absolute requirement even for LFS now and them being "forced" to use it.

Distros should stop cathering to Gnome whims. Leave them to their own, doing their Gnome things, if they can't play nice.

This doesn't bode well for Slackware's next release.
One approach currently discussed on the forums is to remove KDE from the repos and let the community support it.
But that would drastically change what Slackware is - It's supposed to be a fully-featured general purpose distro that you can boot up and immediately get to work, whatever your use case is.

Some people don't understand that systemd isn't the only init system, not even just the only init with modern features. We have runit, OpenRC, s6, dinit, each with very levels of features. The reason there is no real competitor to what systemd does is because it is "cheating", and by that I mean systemd isn't just an init system. It has major scope creep, trying to do everything. It isn't even the best at doing what all the other software it replaces (like DNS, time, etc). What it offers that is irresistible to developers is unifications and abstractions which make developing for Linux simpler. This though is the exact opposite of what many people love about Linux: the option to pick and choose.

I hope something similar doesn't happen to Slackware..

Ouch, LFS of all things... That's harsh.

OpenRC seems to work pretty seamlessly on Gentoo. Just throwing that out there.

Wow, that surprises me. I did LFS with Sys-V (didn't continue to use it after I set up X11 as I couldn't be bothered with package maintenance/mostly did it as an exercise rather than for the sake of the finished system) and found it a fun project.

I wonder how many LFS users use GNOME or something that depends on systemd...

The distro whose goal is education and customization drops support for the easier to understand and lighter init system out of lack of maintainability in service of accommodating the new stuff big desktop environments are doing.

Welcome to the Year of the Linux Desktop. See you all on FreeBSD in 2027.

The cancer spreads.