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Matthew Garrett Forks the Linux Kernel

Posted by timothy on from the other-than-that-how-was-the-parade? dept.

jones_supa writes: Just like Sarah Sharp, Linux developer Matthew Garrett has gotten fed up with the unprofessional development culture surrounding the kernel. "I remember having to deal with interminable arguments over the naming of an interface because Linus has an undying hatred of BSD securelevel, or having my name forever associated with the deepthroating of Microsoft because Linus couldn't be bothered asking questions about the reasoning behind a design before trashing it," Garrett writes. He has chosen to go his own way, and has forked the Linux kernel and added patches that implement a BSD-style securelevel interface. Over time it is expected to pick up some of the power management code that Garrett is working on, and we shall see where it goes from there.

5 of 688 comments (clear)

  1. Sincerely, good luck by HalAtWork · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Good on you for putting wotrk in and not just words in. I'm interested to see how many contributors will support the fork.

    --
    Twinstiq, game news
  2. Re:Benefit to end users? by HalAtWork · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Choice? Options? These people were going to leave kernel dev anyway, now we get to see them try something new. Maybe it'll work, maybe not, but what's the harm in trying?

    --
    Twinstiq, game news
  3. Re:securelevel who? by fahrbot-bot · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Just for the people who don't know what the fuck securelevel is (NetBSD's flavor in this case)

    Not going back to Linux, but this really is a worthwhile addition.

    Furthermore, should something like this be omitted simply because Linus doesn't like it? Is his opinion the only one that counts? Among other things, securelevel is used to implement "jails" but the functionality can be completely disabled (securelevel = -1) -- so Linus can turn it off if he wants.

    Is the direction in which Linux is driven simply the whim of people like Linus and Lennart who dictate "my way or the highway"? They are smart, capable, talented people, but not omniscient Gods - despite what they and some others might think.

    --
    It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
  4. Re:Benefit to end users? by ToxicBanjo · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I don't want to speak for Matthew but when I read his post I see someone who simply didn't like the toxicity level that can or often does occur. Then he saw someone important, a maintainer, leave because of that same toxicity. He's right that he doesn't have to put up with that, it's free software. If forking the kernel is what he needs to keep his hands in the game he loves while being able to feel good about the environment then more power too him. I hope he succeeds. At the very least I can see some like-minded devs coming on board even if the project doesn't see wide-stream adoption.

    --
    There are only 10 kinds of people in the world. Those that understand binary and those that don't.
  5. Re:Can't take the heat? by rudy_wayne · · Score: 4, Interesting

    i have little coding knowledge and have no idea how kernel coding collaboration works

    but i tend to side with linus

    if he verbally abused me i'd first make sure i didn't do something so stupid it warrants such a response (in case you want to say 'nothing warrants verbal abuse', we're adults, not children) before deciding to move away.

    Here's an example of Linus ranting on someone:

    https://lkml.org/lkml/2012/12/...

    Yes, it's pretty harsh. But I can't honestly say that what Linus said was wrong.