> The systemd fallout is demonstrating something I always thought was the weakest part of Linux compared to the BSDs, which is that the Linux userland is developed completely independently of the kernel. People do whatever the fuck they want, and frequently the relationships seem to be hostile.

TBH i think this is its biggest strength because it makes easier for people to switch components that they dislike. After all, you can still use another init system, audio server, desktop environment, shell and other pieces of the userland if you dislike the defaults without having to change the entire OS. On the other hand with BSDs if you dislike something you have to switch to a fork that affects everything.