Re: userspace breakage

["Jeff V. Merkey" <jmerkey@wolfmountaingroup.com>]

Linus Torvalds wrote:

> On Thu, 29 Dec 2005, Jeff V. Merkey wrote:
>  
>
> > Linus Torvalds wrote:
> >    
> >
> > > We're not talking about internal kernel stuff. Internal kernel stuff _does_
> > > get changed, and we dont' care about breakage of out-of-kernel stuff. That's
> > > fundamental.
> > >      
> > Start caring. People spend lots of money supporting you, and what you are
> > doing. How about taking some responsibility for that [...]
> >    
>
> Cry me a river, Jeff.
>
> The kernel is GPL'd. That's my responsibility. Source code. Stuff that 
> comes to me as patches. That's my job, and that's what I get paid for. In 
> fact, my contract says that I _cannot_ work on anything that isn't open 
> source.
>
> Stuff outside the kernel is almost always either (a) experimental stuff 
> that just isn't ready to be merged or (b) tries to avoid the GPL.
>
> Neither is worth a _second_ of anybodys time trying to support, and when 
> you say "people spend lots of money supporting you", you're lying through 
> your teeth. The GPL-avoiding kind of people don't spend a dime supporting 
> me, they spend their money actively trying to debase and destroy what I 
> and thousands of others have been working our butts off for.
>  

The fact that Oracle and IBM support apps on Linux are Freeloading? Baloney!
Linux benefits by having the choice of al these applications.

(P.S. I have heard through the grapevine IBM is putting emphasis on AIX
as their platform and are actively telling this to large customers -- 
can you verify this
and are you aware of it)

> So don't try to make it sound like something it isn't. We support outside 
> projects a hell of a lot better than we'd need to, and I can tell you that 
> it's mostly _me_ who does that. Most of the core kernel developers argue 
> that I should support less of it - and yes, they are backed up by lawyers 
> at their (sometimes quite big) companies.
>
> So be honest now. Are those projects you care about going to be GPL'd and 
> actively pushed back into the standard kernel?
>
> And if they aren't, SHUT THE HELL UP, because they are total freeloaders, 
> and claimign that they "support" me is total crap.
>  

Commercial applications support gives Linux "network effect" (economic term)
and thus clout and credibility. Protect this -- its in **OUR** interests.

Jeff

> 			Linus
>
>  

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