<--snip-->

> > I sympathise, but am not sure this would (currently) be the best use of resources.
> > There is an ever growing list of packaged applications that do not function without SystemD.
> > If every one were identified, then removal of all from the repos may be justified.
> > Who is going to volunteer to be the Devuan developer that continuously performs this duty ?
> > I see this as being the work for a downstream distribution, to take the freedom that Devuan provides and tailor it (reducing choice) for a specific target use.
>

> There should be soe way of warning potential users once it has been
> discovered that a package is useless. We're wasting their time
> otherwise.

Are you volunteering to collate and maintain a list of SystemD dependant application packages ?
If so, I am sure some Users would be grateful and Devuan could add it alongside the release notes.

Devuan is not a distribution for 'newbie's, there is a benefit from not stripping them out. Anyone who is really passionate about a particular broken package will either attempt a fix and submit a patch upstream or pay someone else to do so.