Bug#746715: the foreseeable outcome of the TC vote on init systems

[Ian Jackson <ijackson@chiark.greenend.org.uk>]

Russ Allbery writes ("Bug#746715: the foreseeable outcome of the TC vote on init systems"):
> On what grounds do you think it was a mistake?  As soon as someone talked
> to the maintainer in question and asked them to re-add support, support
> was almost immediately re-added.

If the TC had said something earlier, to set the right expectations,
the problem would probably have never been introduced in the first
place.  It is evident that at least one Debian contributor
misunderstood the earlier TC decision.  This is hardly surprising
given the febrile atmosphere, FUD, etc., and the explicit refusal of
the winning half of the committee to say anything positive about
continuing support for multiple init systems.

> We have a long tradition of not making formal rulings on things that
> resolved themselves before we could get around to putting together a
> ballot, for much the same reasons that courts usually do the same.  I
> think that tradition serves us well and that we should stick with it.

I disagree.  This is fallout from the TC's own mistake, as I have
explained.  We should correct that mistake now.

Ian.