Replacement for "no problem" should run without problems.
python2 had no problems - there was a clear transition path:
1. "str" => b"str"
2. wait some time
3. "str" is u"str"
SysV, rc.d had no problems - just wait till systmed is ready.
If SysV was as bad there would be same amount of outcry as with systmed
Was it really necessary to make it painful?
Who? Somehow systemd defenders has no empathy and Lennart Poettering is a prime example. No matter right them or wrong they are perceived as threat.
Just be nice. It may hinder innovation but it helps community.
(also, what were the alternatives? I don't run GNOME myself, but given what GNOME wants do to, it does need a solid session management. I have seen ConsoleKit, it was worse than systemd.)
"GNOME in jessie will need systemd as the init system to work with all its features, just like it needs the network configuration to be handled by NetworkManager."
Arch Linux switched to systemd earlier than Debian. And I have not noticed. Arch community accepts breaking changes. Debian? I believe they value stability.
Systemd should have matured, proved its citizenship and qualities. And it would have been accepted. Instead it usurped. People had no choice but to abandon their platforms. Decade of angry forum thread shows that there is a problem. Just like with python3, it's better to learn. And it is especially painful that there was PulseAudio just before. Same pointless change. Removed it and never looked back. ALSA works for me, still.