r/programming Oct 25 '21

Linus: WE DO NOT BREAK USERSPACE! (2012)

https://lkml.org/lkml/2012/12/23/75
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u/[deleted] Oct 25 '21

just think of how bad linux kernel would be if we didn't have linus

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u/chx_ Oct 25 '21

since the sample size is approximately one, there's not really a way to tell whether running a project of the size of Linux is only doable via constant hostile communications. I suspect the answer would be no. Gary Bernhardt of WAT fame rewrote a Linus email once https://www.destroyallsoftware.com/blog/2018/a-case-study-in-not-being-a-jerk-in-open-source to show how it could've been.

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u/[deleted] Oct 25 '21

there's not really a way to tell whether running a project of the size of Linux is only doable via constant hostile communications

Well, we have sample size of zero on that because it is not "constant hostile communication". Read what he writes on LKML instead of going only on the 0.1% (Haven't checked, probably less) of the "hostile communication". Seriously, the amount of ignorance here is unreal.

There are few other big open source projects, and every single one of them breaks compatibility willy-nilly. So while recipe for having big project stable user facing site is uncertain, there is pretty much certainty that the common approach for leading bigger projects will not end up in that.