> I get that the corporations employ the maintainers of this code, but if that person quits or the company discontinues a product, now we're left with useless c

> I get that the corporations employ the maintainers of this code, but if that person quits or the company discontinues a product, now we're left with useless crap in the kernel. Why can't these companies just build their own modules? Why is it everyone else's problem? Because if it gets truly abandoned, the kernel folk are generally pretty good at ripping it out. And the idea is that supporting weird cases off and on will lead to a more general kernel that will be able to attack future needs for everyone a little better.