hackertube.io

The Tragedy of systemd

linux.conf.au · talk · Watch on YouTube

Linux & open-source ecosystemsOperating systems & kernels

What it is

FreeBSD developer Benno Rice traces the history of init and bootstrap systems at linux.conf.au 2019 to explain why systemd was seen as necessary and why it provokes such strong reactions. He also discusses why change is scary.

Why Hacker News recommends it

The most-recommended balanced take on systemd, from a BSD perspective, handed to anyone caught up in the systemd debate.

  • 16 people recommended it
  • 14 different months
  • 5 strong recommendations
  • first 2019, last 2025

What HN commenters said

  1. “has an excellent and amusing discussion of systemd’s technical merits.”

    Excellent and amusing discussion of systemd's technical merits.

    TimeBearingDown, 2024-04 · Strong recommendation · in “Ubuntu 24.04 (and Debian) removed libsystemd from SSH server dependencies”

  2. “Benno Rice has an excellent presentation on systemd that's worth watching through to the end”

    Fair BSD-grounded view of systemd strengths and weaknesses.

    eropple, 2024-04 · Strong recommendation · in “A BSD person tries Alpine Linux”

  3. “is an interesting talk on this topic from the view of someone (Benno Rice) in BSD land. Highly recommended.”

    Systemd discussed from BSD perspective.

    SahAssar, 2024-08 · Strong recommendation · in “Systemd, 10 years later: a historical and technical retrospective (2020)”

  4. “There is a wonderful talk by Benno Rice a few years ago. Insightful and entertaining.”

    Insightful, entertaining, and not only negative about systemd.

    fermigier, 2025-01 · Strong recommendation · in “Sixos: A nix OS without systemd [video]”

  5. “you should really watch this talk, particularly 12:45 through 16:20”

    Argues systemd manages services; unified service management beats the alternative.

    nickysielicki, 2025-09 · Strong recommendation · in “Systemd can be a cause of restrictions on daemons”

  6. “I think that the section on change at is great.”

    Section on change explains resistance to systemd.

    isostatic, 2019-02 · Recommendation · in “The Tragedy of Systemd [video]”

  7. “I found Benno Rice's The Tragedy of Systemd[0] interesting and enlightening.”

    Interesting, enlightening BSD perspective on systemd controversy.

    masklinn, 2019-05 · Recommendation · in “Linux distros without systemd”

  8. “I recommend watching this to give you some perspective on the SystemD hate”

    Gives perspective on systemd hate.

    holstvoogd, 2019-05 · Recommendation · in “Linux distros without systemd”

Excerpts from Hacker News comments, linked to the originals. Summaries and labels were written by a language model from those comments.

Topics: systemd, init systems, freebsd, unix history, linux

Also recommended by the same people