Post #2505481

I understand the arguments against systemd. It isn't just an init system and it fulfills multiple roles, which goes against the Unix philosophy. That being said, systemd does store user information. Since this issue requires the storage of additional user information, in order to comply with the law, the systemd team are making their software compatible with complying with the law. Ultimately, it's the end user who gets to determine how the software is configured. You can ignore the birthdate field and systemd will not do anything to prevent you from doing so. systemd doesn't require the data in order to operate, it doesn't verify the data and it doesn't prompt you to enter the data. The consequences of ignoring this addition are exactly zero. It's simply there because a law exists and users of systemd (like xdg-desktop-portal) require a location to store the data. I hate the age verification laws and think they're going to cause more problems than they claim to solve. I'm not cheering on these laws, I'm simply pointing out that attacking systemd for adding an optional field in order to allow compliance isn't rational. Aim the ire at the people making the laws, not the volunteer developers who are following laws even if they don't like them.