---
title: The Tragedy of systemd
osem_url: https://osem.seagl.org/conferences/seagl2018/program/proposals/422
beginning: '2018-11-10T16:30:00.000-08:00'
end: '2018-11-10T17:20:00.000-08:00'
presenters:
- name: Benno Rice
  osem_url: https://osem.seagl.org/users/564
  gravatar_id: b8b2be2fb4b07bea4f24385f710f3e84
  biography: Benno is this guy who works for Yubico and has Opinions™.
---

systemd is, to put it mildly, controversial. As a FreeBSD developer I decided I wanted to know why.

I delved into the history of bootstrap systems, and even the history of UNIX and other contemporary operating systems, to try and work out why something like systemd was seem as necessary, if not desirable. I also tried to work out why so many people found it so upsetting, annoying, or otherwise rage-inducing.

Join me on a journey through the bootstrap process, the history of init, the reasons why change can be scary, and the discovery of a part of your OS you may not even know existed.
