> Just because it works for you does not mean it works for everybody else. The mess of log files below /var/log has been a problem for a long time. The format is not descriptive enough, there timestamps are second resolution only, no timezone information, and yet the times are in local timezone.

Have you ever tried to actually configure your syslog?

> Please don't hold on /var/log/messages just because it has been like that for ages. That should not be the justification for it existing.

Seriously, did you ever try to configure it?

> That's funny, because my experience has been that writing init.d scripts is painful and even package maintainers sometimes get it wrong.

For simple cases init.d script is mostly overkill, personally I had to write generator for this stuff. Solved 99% of probles in simple cases. But in complex cases where you split configuration (hello /etc/{conf.d,default}/*) or need to make custom actions (no matter which), service files lose. Now you have to write a wrapper that will be actually started by systemd. Who were saying what about redunant entities?