Subject: [bug#48924] Add systemd

From: Leo Famulari <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 14 Jun 2021 11:25:09 -0400

On Mon, Jun 14, 2021 at 02:30:10PM +0200, Ludovic Courtès wrote:
> No no, I was careful to apply the same standards.  :-)  My main
> question is whether it’s usable at all:
> 
>   https://issues.guix.gnu.org/48924#1
> 
> Tony’s use case has to do with satisfying the dependencies of a
> binary-only proprietary executable:
> 
>   https://issues.guix.gnu.org/48924#2
> 
> To me, that use case alone isn’t enough to justify maintaining systemd
> in Guix proper.

It's true, that's not really a good reason to add the package. There are
probably some existing Guix packages with a similar use case, but nobody
ever said it out loud. It's a lesson in the value of discretion, I
suppose.

> However, if, as Efraim suggests, a systemd package has some uses, at
> least on foreign distros, then that’s fine with me.  It’s a very narrow
> use case (running ‘loginctl’ on a foreign distro), but why not.
> 
> Thoughts?

To me, it's a simple scenario: We received a contribution to add a
popular free software program.

But it has been complicated by the broader context, about which I
already shared my uncharitable interpretation, and that's a shame. Now
there is a big discussion about it.

I would add the package. We should feel free to remove packages
(especially leaf packages) that aren't building or are far behind the
upstream release schedule if nobody is trying to fix them. We don't have
to assume a burden of maintenance.