4 ms·

I really wonder what's going to happen to Linux once Linus is gone. I think we've seen now that just a week after he took a break the community started falling

by carlmr 8y ago

I really wonder what's going to happen to Linux once Linus is gone. I think we've seen now that just a week after he took a break the community started falling apart rapidly.

lolive 8y ago
Hopefully natural selection will bring us a profile similar to Linus that will take over the job.
- Narann 8y ago
  ...or various specialized kernels... Who know...
ChrisSD 8y ago
Did it? People actually involved in the Linux community seemed fine. It was just internet people shouting "the sky is falling!"
- carlmr 8y ago
  What I read about was Kernel contributors having some friction with the CoC. That got blown up by the press a bit, but it wasn't only the press.
  - brazzy 8y ago
    If anything, drama related the CoC was what caused Linus' hiatus (in a "straw the broke the camel's back" sense), not the other way round.
  - joshuamorton 8y ago
    That was just because the CoC was updated at the same time that Linus left. There would have been CoC controversy if Linus had never left.
    - navane 8y ago
      You might have hit the nail on the head here. The belgian king once resigned for a single day so the parliament could pass a law on abortion. Could Linus have pulled of a similiar stunt? https://www.nytimes.com/1990/04/05/world/belgian-king-unable-to-sign-abortion-law-takes-day-off.html https://www.nytimes.com/1990/04/05/world/belgian-king-unable...
      - joshuamorton 8y ago
        I find it unlikely. It came up on the lkml that Linus requested changes to the CoC, and Greg was just the person who ended up managing the changes. If you mean that Linus didn't want the flak for the changes, then that seems like weak leadership on his part, and since iiuc Greg is likely to take over kernel management when Linus ever retires, passing the controversial work to his eventual replacement is bad tactics as well, since it'll undermine Greg's authority in some people's eyes if he takes over.
ry_ry 8y ago
Kernel fragments into a dizzying array of forks, TrueLinux, RealKernel, Linux Core, LinuxPlus and DogeKernel fight for supremacy on obscure making lists and github issue trackers. The public remains largely unaware. Huge PR battles over which logo to use erupt, somebody sneaks backdoors into the majority of the kernels. Somebody else backdoors the backdoors. Pretty soon over half the code base consists of backdoors and embedded nVidia graphics drivers. Buzzfeed publish a list of 15 linux kernels you won't believe exist. A week has now passed since Linus left the project, and we have hit Peak Kernel. Linux fades from the cusp of becoming a mainstream desktop OS and eventually settles into a niche server role until the 2038 bug wipes out humanity due to some buggy memory management running on an ICBM launch computer. Chrome OS sees a slight uptick in users.
- jraph 8y ago
  I really enjoyed reading this comment. I'm still smiling. Thanks. Now I can start working happy. carlmr, you issued a nice writing prompt.
- neddeadstark 8y ago
  This is perfect.
- TheSpiceIsLife 8y ago
  I've been keeping a plain text file of quotes for 15 years. I hadn't put anything in it since April this year. Thank you.
pelario 8y ago
Git seems to be doing fine after Linus left it...
- williamdclt 8y ago
  True, but Linus is not the leader of Git since 13ish years. He gave the reins to Junio Hamano before it became such a large and influencial project, and Linux is way larger and way more influencial now. There's way more Linus "baked in" the kernel than in Git, I would say
dis-sys 8y ago
Ballmer yelling at people "cancer is cured!"
tjpnz 8y ago
Once there are enough moderators, community guidelines and steering committees in place it will just write itself.
Maakuth 8y ago
[citation needed]
PurpleRamen 8y ago
He left after detonating a bomb. It would have played the same even when he stayed. He probably just left to avoid the shitstorm and his first violation of the CoC. Though, it's true that with "eternal" project-leads like Linus, or recently Guido van Rossum at Python, we never think about what will happen when they are gone. But I think with big projects like Linux they will be fine. There are enough people to replace them, even if things might change, the project moves on. We should think more about important projects from single developers. What about vim? Or all the important plugins/addons? There are so many small important gears around which depends on so few support.
SmellyGeekBoy 8y ago
"Some people on the internet with no involvement whatsoever in kernel development shouting about political correctness gone mad" !== "Falling apart rapidly"
aasasd 8y ago
It would probably be for the best if Linus stayed away for a while and saw what happens. That way he and the community could make a better plan for when he retires for real, and start steering in that direction now.
AnIdiotOnTheNet 8y ago
Very first thing? Kernel ABI becomes unstable, thus securing Linux's position as the OS most incompatible with itself.

by carlmr 8y ago

I really wonder what's going to happen to Linux once Linus is gone. I think we've seen now that just a week after he took a break the community started falling apart rapidly.

lolive 8y ago

Hopefully natural selection will bring us a profile similar to Linus that will take over the job.

Narann 8y ago
...or various specialized kernels... Who know...

ChrisSD 8y ago

Did it? People actually involved in the Linux community seemed fine. It was just internet people shouting "the sky is falling!"

carlmr 8y ago
What I read about was Kernel contributors having some friction with the CoC. That got blown up by the press a bit, but it wasn't only the press.
- brazzy 8y ago
  If anything, drama related the CoC was what caused Linus' hiatus (in a "straw the broke the camel's back" sense), not the other way round.
- joshuamorton 8y ago
  That was just because the CoC was updated at the same time that Linus left. There would have been CoC controversy if Linus had never left.
  - navane 8y ago
    You might have hit the nail on the head here. The belgian king once resigned for a single day so the parliament could pass a law on abortion. Could Linus have pulled of a similiar stunt? https://www.nytimes.com/1990/04/05/world/belgian-king-unable-to-sign-abortion-law-takes-day-off.html https://www.nytimes.com/1990/04/05/world/belgian-king-unable...
    - joshuamorton 8y ago
      I find it unlikely. It came up on the lkml that Linus requested changes to the CoC, and Greg was just the person who ended up managing the changes. If you mean that Linus didn't want the flak for the changes, then that seems like weak leadership on his part, and since iiuc Greg is likely to take over kernel management when Linus ever retires, passing the controversial work to his eventual replacement is bad tactics as well, since it'll undermine Greg's authority in some people's eyes if he takes over.

ry_ry 8y ago

Kernel fragments into a dizzying array of forks, TrueLinux, RealKernel, Linux Core, LinuxPlus and DogeKernel fight for supremacy on obscure making lists and github issue trackers. The public remains largely unaware. Huge PR battles over which logo to use erupt, somebody sneaks backdoors into the majority of the kernels. Somebody else backdoors the backdoors. Pretty soon over half the code base consists of backdoors and embedded nVidia graphics drivers. Buzzfeed publish a list of 15 linux kernels you won't believe exist. A week has now passed since Linus left the project, and we have hit Peak Kernel. Linux fades from the cusp of becoming a mainstream desktop OS and eventually settles into a niche server role until the 2038 bug wipes out humanity due to some buggy memory management running on an ICBM launch computer. Chrome OS sees a slight uptick in users.

jraph 8y ago
I really enjoyed reading this comment. I'm still smiling. Thanks. Now I can start working happy. carlmr, you issued a nice writing prompt.
neddeadstark 8y ago
This is perfect.
TheSpiceIsLife 8y ago
I've been keeping a plain text file of quotes for 15 years. I hadn't put anything in it since April this year. Thank you.

pelario 8y ago

Git seems to be doing fine after Linus left it...

williamdclt 8y ago
True, but Linus is not the leader of Git since 13ish years. He gave the reins to Junio Hamano before it became such a large and influencial project, and Linux is way larger and way more influencial now. There's way more Linus "baked in" the kernel than in Git, I would say

dis-sys 8y ago

Ballmer yelling at people "cancer is cured!"

tjpnz 8y ago

Once there are enough moderators, community guidelines and steering committees in place it will just write itself.

Maakuth 8y ago

[citation needed]

PurpleRamen 8y ago

He left after detonating a bomb. It would have played the same even when he stayed. He probably just left to avoid the shitstorm and his first violation of the CoC. Though, it's true that with "eternal" project-leads like Linus, or recently Guido van Rossum at Python, we never think about what will happen when they are gone. But I think with big projects like Linux they will be fine. There are enough people to replace them, even if things might change, the project moves on. We should think more about important projects from single developers. What about vim? Or all the important plugins/addons? There are so many small important gears around which depends on so few support.

SmellyGeekBoy 8y ago

"Some people on the internet with no involvement whatsoever in kernel development shouting about political correctness gone mad" !== "Falling apart rapidly"

aasasd 8y ago

It would probably be for the best if Linus stayed away for a while and saw what happens. That way he and the community could make a better plan for when he retires for real, and start steering in that direction now.

AnIdiotOnTheNet 8y ago

Very first thing? Kernel ABI becomes unstable, thus securing Linux's position as the OS most incompatible with itself.