So the LKML has been rotting from the head down for...30 years? If the result of that is Linux, maybe the rot isn't as bad as you fear. The cultural difference

So the LKML has been rotting from the head down for...30 years? If the result of that is Linux, maybe the rot isn't as bad as you fear. The cultural differences that cause distro forks are debates over free-vs-libre, what belongs in the kernel vs userspace, and standardization issues, not (afaik) "we won't submit this to the upstream kernel because we don't approve of the way they talk to each other there". And I think it's very important for the core kernel devs to hold the line on those issues.