As co-editor of the last edition of the File Hierarchy Standard before it merged into the Linux Standard Base, I've been following the discussion about combining the directories  /bin, /sbin and /lib into /usr/bin, /usr/sbin and /usr/lib respectively.  You can follow it too, via the LWN discussion.

To summarize, there are two sides to the debate.  The "pro" side points out:

  1. Nothing will really change for users, as symlinks will make old stuff still work.
  2. There are precedents in Solaris and Fedora.
  3. The weak reasonings used previously to separate / and /usr no longer apply.
  4. Separate /usr has become increasingly unsupported anyway.
  5. Moving to /usr will enable genuine R/O root filesystem sharing.

The "anti" side, however, raises very salient points:

  1. Lennart Poettering supports it.
  2. Lennart Poettering is an asshole.

Fellow Anti-mergers, I understand the pain and anguish that systemd has caused you personally, and your families.  Your hopes and dreams crushed, by someone with all the charm of a cheese grater across the knuckles.  Your remaining life tainted by this putrescent subhuman who forced himself upon your internet.

Despite the privation we have all endured, please find strength to stop this nightmarish ravaging of our once-pure filesystems.  For if he's not stopped now, what hope for  /usr/sbin vs /usr/bin?