The other user data is already stored in the userdb versions that nearly everyone who uses a systemd distro already has. You can check what data is being stored with userdbctl. On my system that looks like this:

userdbctl user --output=json $(whoami)
{
        "userName" : "sky",
        "uid" : 1000,
        "gid" : 100,
        "homeDirectory" : "/users/sky/home"
        "shell" : "/run/current-system/sw/bin/fish"
}

Honestly this PR is a bit of a nothingburger. I’m not aware of any distro really using userdb to store data beyond what you’d store in /etc/passwd (maybe Ubuntu does?). The main value of userdb seems to be as a frontend so other programs don’t need dedicated code to handle /etc/passwd, LDAP, etc. Notably GNOME recently eliminated their dedicated code in favor of just using userdb.

And Userdb doesn’t really handle data validation at all. It enforces that you input a valid date after 1900, but that’s kinda it. I guess you need root/sudo privileges to change the birthdate but that’s not much of a hurdle for most Linux users.

Really this entire PR boils down to:

ALTER TABLE users ADD birthdate date;

As per the linked ticket, they are a story for a handful of user data. An XDG portal needs to store this stuff, and they are already integrated, so this is just to accommodate the other project.

Systemd has to do EVERYTHING

They drop a systemd-kerneld one day and drop the Linux bit altogether

… can’t be validated in any way.

I feel like this will be a problem for the future.

Edit: another user already pointed out the “problem for the future” here.

The problem is the laws getting passed, not with software that gives people a choice about whether to comply.

OK, but the law didn’t even get written. That asshole decided to open up and deepthroat the boot before it even entered the room.

The problem is the laws getting passed, not with software that gives people a choice about whether to comply.

Is it going to give a choice, though? As more and more of these laws are passed, soon people will have no choice. Open-source software was supposed to be about freedom, and I see this as anything but that.

Yes, the PR specifically calls out the laws as the reason for this change. The problem is BOTH the laws getting passed, and corporate interests complying in advance.

By implementing a mechanism that enables this law, it becomes exponentially easier for lawmakers to then make it mandatory (as many already have/are openly planning to).

Yeah, the problem is the lawmakers. But I don’t have enough money to control the lawmakers. The creators of free software should not actively helping oppressive measures.

Personally, I just don’t like the taste of asslicking in my distributions. Time to change to a non systemd distro.

how do you think this can be most effectively fought?

DRM writers love this too.

yep, it might be needed or not, let’s invest valuable dev time into it, it will open the door for user tracking based on age bracket now at least, nobody asked for it, but let’s do it anyways. Fuck Systemd for approving and merging this.

Come on, you know it’s going to be 1/1/1970 most of the time.

You’re right that asking a user for a date is next to useless. However, that isn’t a reason to not fight this stuff. Asking the user for the date is step one to getting people accept it. After that they’ll point out that people were lying, and they’ll need our government ID to verify (and link us to activity). It’s all a step towards a surveillance network tracking every move you make on your computer.

https://itsfoss.com/systemd-free-distros/

1/1/1

every linux user is jesus confirmed

This change is mostly in the userdb code which is a sub-component of systemd that stores user records. It isn’t in the PID1 process. But I could see an argument for having it be part of the desktop environment in GNOME or something like that instead.

Exactly. This is a massive overreach, and it is crazy that Poettering is even considering merging this.

They haven’t fessed up yet that that’s part of their plan. I expect to hear from them after they’ve passed the first half.

forgive me if this is a joke, i’m not well versed in linux shit yet, but wouldn’t that only remove systemd-boot?

Unfortunately, the internet at large has been embracing cuck behavior and capitulation for years.

They are genuinely excited to be a bunch of scared little bitches eager to please their masters.

FOSS isn’t as independent as we believe it is

Some parts are indeed sponsored by corporations, that’s not a bad thing per se because financial support is important.

Problems arise when corporations push changes solely for their own interest instead of the benefit of the community, this PR seems to be that case.

Don’t forget my shitty country in the process of trying to implement this too

Germany has effectivly the same law, active since december 2025, and I am sure more countries will intruduce such laws soon. Linux Distributions have to be compliant with this laws, if we like it or not.

Most distributions use systemd but there are still distros and other unix-like operating systems that are using something else. However, they are not “user friendly” and will probably not be what most people are looking for.

Slackware uses its own init system and never used systemd but it has the reputation of being difficult to use. Gentoo also lets users choose between systemd and OpenRC. Alpine Linux uses OpenRC too. There’s more than a dozen distros not using systemd, but again, probably not what most people want to use. It’s also possible to replace systemd with OpenRC on some distros, but it possibly, probably, might cause some quirks.

Otherwise, there are other unix-like operating systems. Debian GNU Hurd also has its own init system but it’s not using the Linux kernel, so it’s a different beast. OpenBSD and FreeBSD also have their own init system, but not Linux. And AFAIK there’s no such thing as modern gaming on those.

There are ways not to use systemd, but realistically speaking, it will probably not be worth it unless you’re really militant about this. I started with Slackware at the end of the 90ies, I know how to compile a kernel, and tried GNU Hurd at some point, but I will not change something unless it’s really implemented deeper into the general software. It’s frustrating that the systemd devs are “collaborating”, but we’ll see what happens after a few rounds of updates.

SystemD isnt exactly a program but more of a group of projects, the only “core” SystemD software on most distros is the init system… Which you can run completely without SystemD’s UserDB system (the part being talked about in the post).

Basically this means you as a user dont have to do anything but switch away from projects that depend on SystemD’s UserDB (like Gnome), not SystemD as a whole

However if you do want to move away from SystemD as a whole you can replace your init system with another one, gentoo’s wiki is a good starting point for learning a bit more: wiki. Personally I love using openrc but of you have no need to touch init files… Dont switch

Alt-init distros exist but it’s only a matter of time before either they’re screwed or age-gating goes down to firmware or hardware level.

Just use something simple with systemd. The Linux community is its own worst enemy, in inviting people to come to Linux because it’s so simple and beginner friendly, then the trap snaps shut and they tell you to pick a distro and all you have to do is decide on either gnome, plasma or cinnamon, and between arch and debian and ubuntu, and between snap and Flatpack, between Vim, Emacs, nano, and micro, between Wayland and the other one, between systemd and violent self-fellagelation, and whatever you choose, make sure it’s FOSS and exactly what the next person on the forum used and as pure as the driven snow or you’ll be bullied, belittled, and trolled by egomaniacs, elitists, and gatekeepers until you fawn like a thrashed housewife who ‘only gets hit when she fucks up’, or you give up and install windows again.

Just use whatever works for you, makes your life easier, and avoid the Linux purity circlejerk. When it stops working for you, use something else. Go your own way.

If you don’t know what systemd does and you aren’t affected by this, use it. If there’s closed source software you wanna run, run it. If you want to install a snap, do it. If you like using VS code, install it on your Linux, it works great. You will never be pure enough to satisfy the Linux community.