> It feels especially egregious because, as commenters pointed out, implementing the PAM API is a better (and undoubtedly more portable) way to do this that the

> It feels especially egregious because, as commenters pointed out, implementing the PAM API is a better (and undoubtedly more portable) way to do this that the developers of systemd didn't seem to consider. I wouldn't consider that bit to be particularly egregious. The thought process of a systemd developer confronted with a regression caused by systemd changing some well-known behaviour would naturally lead to a solution where program X tells systemd that it needs to be handled differently. It's basically a version of the anecdote that experienced developers aren't better because they know the answer to every question, but rather that they know which question to ask. Apparently the discussion has lead to a better solution (not that I would be a good judge of that), so this seems like a bit of a storm in a teacup.