Linux kernel maintainer Greg Kroah-Hartman has defended the Linux Foundation against a critic who accused it of abandoning the kernel developers. Kroah-Hartman said that the Foundation has increased its support for the kernel community over the years and that the critic’s claims were based on misinformation and click-bait headlines.
A Critic’s Complaint
The critic in question was Linux blogger Bryan Lunduke, who wrote an article titled “The Linux Foundation has abandoned Linux.com and become a laughing stock” on his website. Lunduke claimed that the Linux Foundation was reducing the six-year long-term support (LTS) window for the Linux kernel to two years, and that it was more interested in funding compliance best practices, artificial intelligence and blockchain projects than supporting the kernel development.
Lunduke also criticized the Linux Foundation for neglecting the Linux.com website, which he said was “a ghost town” with outdated and inaccurate information. He argued that the Foundation had lost its focus and credibility, and that it was no longer serving the interests of the Linux community.
A Maintainer’s Response
Kroah-Hartman, who is responsible for stable Linux kernel releases, responded to Lunduke’s article in an online discussion on Hacker News. He said that Lunduke did not bother to ask him why he made the change to the LTS window, which he said was done back in February 2023. He explained that LTS kernels were no longer supported for six years because it turned out that no one used them, and that most users preferred to upgrade to newer kernels.
He also said that Lunduke was wrong to assume that the Linux Foundation was giving less to the kernel community because of its involvement in other projects. He said that the amount of resources and other stuff that the Linux Foundation provides to the Linux kernel community has increased over the years, including last year. He said that it was not a zero-sum game, and that the Linux Foundation works according to what its member companies want to host.
He added that no “abandonment” was happening at all, and that the opposite was true. He said that just like it has for the entirety of the Linux Foundation’s existence, support has grown every year. He said that this would have been easy to verify if someone just asked them.
A Lesson Learned
Kroah-Hartman’s response shows that not everything that is written on the internet is true, and that it is important to check the facts and sources before making accusations or judgments. He also shows that the Linux Foundation is not a monolithic entity, but a diverse and dynamic organization that adapts to the needs and demands of its members and stakeholders. He also demonstrates that the Linux kernel development is not dependent on a single entity or person, but on a collaborative and distributed network of developers who work together to create and maintain one of the most successful open source projects in history.
