Sorry for CCing but if this does not get to the list and you do respond please include it.

> From: picamanic@???
> To: dng@???
>
> After replacing whatever init comes with the distro [salix, void, devuan], with a 150 line sinit-based script [now using busybox and sdhcp]. This allows me to setup the iptables firewall BEFORE starting the network [almost every other distro take note]. This setup is mostly portable across disparate non-systemd distros.

This sounds very interesting and I am willing to research it, if you can help with some promised references to simplify the search, it would be appreciated.
But why do you leave this puzzling remark about desperate distros. What do you mean by desperate distros. That are struggling to get their init system to work? In my experience they all seem to be working fine, and to newbs coming from systemd distros it is mind-boggling how simple they are.

> And it continues.. but I still use Thunderbird and Firefox as I have yet to grapple with the minimalist alternatives [surf, uzbl, mutt, ..].

Not necessarily a minimalist alternative but nowhere as insane as today's firefox, Palemoon has found a new advocate.

> Sorry about the length of this post.

Ooopss... I better remain silent.

> jacksprat
> addendum: references available on request.

funGus