If you are reasonably familiar with the Linux ecosystem you will be aware that there has been a big rift over a process called “systemd”. This particular process, or processes, are concerned with Linux system and session management. The issue has been for many that systemd steps beyond its role of being the “init” process and its creators wish to extend its operation into an increasingly greater and more invasive aspect of taking over more and more of the system management processes.
My conviction is that the developers of “systemd” are trying to make their project bigger than anyone else’s, including the kernel project which they don’t lead or control. Rightly or wrongly, it is seen in terms of their own egos, and also the implied desire of their employers, Red Hat, to have a strong influence in the direction of where Linux will go in the future, to, presumably, the corporate and financial benefit of their business interests.
The Linux community has as such become strongly polarised between those who see the implied dominance of Red Hat as the issue it undoubtedly is and those who are less concerned with the overall implications of that. There is now a specific fork of Debian concerned with ensuring systemd remains completely optional, following a bitter debate and split over the issue in their community.
As an end user I am somewhat concerned we will have limited choice as I install distros that have transitioned to systemd and as I am not willing to switch to a distro that specifically excludes it, for the sake of doing that. Unfortunately due to software compatibility issues and my own needs and expectations of a distro, I will have very little choice in doing that.
It is quite right that the Devuan admins and others have highlighted the risks of allowing a for-profit corporation to dominate the Linux platform because of where Linux has come from and how much difficulty could be caused in the future, that everyone has already come to Linux to escape from. That makes it easy to understand the heated debate and divide in the Debian community particularly.