From: Finn Thain <fthain@linux-m68k.org>
To: Thomas Zimmermann <tzimmermann@suse.de>
Cc: Helge Deller <deller@gmx.de>, Sui Jingfeng <15330273260@189.cn>,
geert@linux-m68k.org, javierm@redhat.com, daniel@ffwll.ch,
vgupta@kernel.org, chenhuacai@kernel.org, kernel@xen0n.name,
davem@davemloft.net, arnd@arndb.de, sam@ravnborg.org,
linux-fbdev@vger.kernel.org, dri-devel@lists.freedesktop.org,
linux-arch@vger.kernel.org, linux-snps-arc@lists.infradead.org,
linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org, linux-ia64@vger.kernel.org,
loongarch@lists.linux.dev, linux-m68k@lists.linux-m68k.org,
sparclinux@vger.kernel.org, linux-arm-kernel@lists.infradead.org,
linux-parisc@vger.kernel.org
Subject: Re: [PATCH v6 1/6] fbdev/matrox: Remove trailing whitespaces
Date: Fri, 12 May 2023 10:04:48 +0000 [thread overview]
Message-ID: <7c2a6687-9c4e-efed-5e25-774b582e9a27@linux-m68k.org> (raw)
In-Reply-To: <e7bd021c-1a6b-6e47-143a-36ae2fd2fe6b@suse.de>
On Thu, 11 May 2023, Thomas Zimmermann wrote:
> But I'd really like to see most of these drivers being moved into
> staging and deleted soon afterwards. Users will complain about those
> drivers that are really still required. Those might be worth to spend
> effort on.
>
That strategy is not going to find out what functionality is required.
Instead it will find out which beneficiaries are capable of overcoming all
of the hurdles to reverting deletion:
- Find out how to report a regression correctly.
- Gather all the necessary information.
- Obtain buy-in from a sympathetic developer.
- Build a patched kernel, test it and provide the results. (And possibly
repeat the same until neglected code becomes accepted.)
- Wait for the relevant distro to release the relevant kernel update.
Developers tend to overlook the burden of process because it's ostensibly
done to raise code quality. But it seems to me that affected users are
more likely to seek a workaround than undertake the process.
So deletion doesn't discover end-user requirements. What it does is
advertise a vacancy for an unpaid adoptive maintainer, somehow presumed to
be found amongst a very well remunerated and very small pool of talent.
The way I look at it, the maintainence of old code is the price of a
so-called "right to repair". But there ain't no free lunch and if we want
that right we should seek ways to reduce that price. For example, by
making a larger talent pool more effective, by re-using more code and by
improving the tooling and automation.
The code I'd delete first wouldn't be a small amount of old code in need
of sponsorship. Or even the most buggy code. The first to go would be that
code which will never find an actual end user because some portion of the
code required to actually use certain platforms was never mainlined by the
vendor -- and never will be without some push-back.
next prev parent reply other threads:[~2023-05-12 10:04 UTC|newest]
Thread overview: 31+ messages / expand[flat|nested] mbox.gz Atom feed top
2023-05-10 11:05 [PATCH v6 0/6] fbdev: Move framebuffer I/O helpers to <asm/fb.h> Thomas Zimmermann
2023-05-10 11:05 ` [PATCH v6 1/6] fbdev/matrox: Remove trailing whitespaces Thomas Zimmermann
2023-05-10 18:20 ` Sui Jingfeng
2023-05-11 7:55 ` Thomas Zimmermann
2023-05-11 9:24 ` Sui Jingfeng
2023-05-11 13:05 ` Helge Deller
2023-05-11 13:10 ` Geert Uytterhoeven
2023-05-11 16:23 ` Helge Deller
2023-05-11 14:27 ` Thomas Zimmermann
2023-05-11 17:02 ` Helge Deller
2023-05-12 7:14 ` Thomas Zimmermann
2023-05-12 10:04 ` Finn Thain [this message]
2023-05-10 11:05 ` [PATCH v6 2/6] ipu-v3: Include <linux/io.h> Thomas Zimmermann
2023-05-10 11:05 ` [PATCH v6 3/6] fbdev: Include <linux/io.h> in various drivers Thomas Zimmermann
2023-05-10 11:05 ` [PATCH v6 4/6] fbdev: Include <linux/fb.h> instead of <asm/fb.h> Thomas Zimmermann
2023-05-10 11:05 ` [PATCH v6 5/6] fbdev: Move framebuffer I/O helpers into <asm/fb.h> Thomas Zimmermann
2023-05-10 12:34 ` Geert Uytterhoeven
2023-05-10 14:20 ` Thomas Zimmermann
2023-05-10 14:34 ` Geert Uytterhoeven
2023-05-10 15:11 ` Thomas Zimmermann
2023-05-10 14:03 ` kernel test robot
2023-05-10 14:15 ` Arnd Bergmann
2023-05-10 14:27 ` Thomas Zimmermann
2023-05-10 15:54 ` Arnd Bergmann
2023-05-11 10:53 ` Thomas Zimmermann
2023-05-11 12:35 ` Geert Uytterhoeven
2023-05-11 12:48 ` Arnd Bergmann
2023-05-11 13:22 ` Artur Rojek
2023-05-11 13:40 ` Arnd Bergmann
2023-05-11 13:12 ` Thomas Zimmermann
2023-05-10 11:05 ` [PATCH v6 6/6] fbdev: Rename fb_mem*() helpers Thomas Zimmermann
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