I suggested using the Desktop .iso, not the Live .iso - the 'live' can only install XFCE, whilst the 'desktop' gives you the choice.

(I have found that using 'live' sometimes needs to be connected to the internet to be able to install the Grub boot loader.)

If you use the 'Desktop' installer .iso, you should be able to install your choice of desktop to install, directly to your drive.

If Debian packages have a reliance on systemd, then they are incompatible.....blame Debian.

Not at all, no one made you join the forums, so is totally on you....

I found that if you connect to the internet, it will download & install grub OK, if you don't connect to the internet before installing, you won't get grub installed.

Check out the packages differences between them.

https://refracta.org/docs/package_list.txt

You are right, I should have said Excaliber - thats the trouble with using various different computer systems....

Maybe doesn't help you, but I have no problems using Firefox on XFCE on my I3 or i5 computers, using Devuan from 'server' media installs.....

If it likes Firefox but not PaleMoon, easiest fix would be to install Firefox, update/upgrade, then uninstall Firefox if you don't want to keep it.

It's the normal way on Linux....

Basically, if you want systemd install Debian, but if you want freedom, use a systemd free distro - there are others as well as our favourite.

Maybe we will get a non commercial internet because of this, it had been rumoured before that this might happen when commercial interests took over the web...