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Birthdate field under discussion also in Arch Linux (github.com)

submitted 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) by pglpm@lemmy.ca to c/linux@programming.dev

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Add a required birth date prompt (YYYY-MM-DD) to the user creation flow, stored as a systemd userdb JSON drop-in at /etc/userdb/.user on the target system.

Motivation

Recent age verification laws in California (AB-1043), Colorado (SB26-051), Brazil (Lei 15.211/2025), etc. require platforms to verify user age. Collecting birth date at install time ensures Arch Linux is compliant with these regulations.

This is just a pull request, no changes yet.

The pull-request discussion thread has been locked, just like it happened for the similar thread in Systemd, owing to the amount of negative comments...

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[–] Solumbran@lemmy.world 2 points 2 days ago

It could be a slippery slope. That's why the point is not to just accept it and move on, but to comply while pushing back against it.

And complying right away, but with a bullshit field, is a good way to signal "we do not agree, and we're going to always find a way to fight back".

Taking a hit to avoid defeat, does not mean surrendering. It just means that you need to recognise when a battle is lost. In a way, the other side of the slippery slope is the sunk cost fallacy, where you refuse to admit that something is a lost cause and you keep on pushing, making things worse.

It's a matter of balance and reason, which people nowadays reaaaally struggle with.