Re: Forked android kernel development from linux kernel mainline

[Greg KH <greg@kroah.com>]

On Sat, Nov 06, 2010 at 03:22:59PM -0400, Ted Ts'o wrote:
> Given that the Android kernel developers have already spent upwards of
> ten times the amount of engineering hours it would take forward port
> their kernel patches to each upstream kernel version for the next
> several years, finding a path that meets their requirements as well as
> those of the upstream kernel maintainers may not be a trivial thing.
> 
> Also keep in mind that someone no less than Linus Torvalds has said
> that sometimes forks are good, and that the _freedom_ to fork is
> critical.  But if anyone feels that figuring out some way to make the
> android kernel patches (a) upstreamable, and (b) compatible with
> android's userspace is their itch to scratch, the other part of the
> open source ethos is that they are certainly free to try.

As per the Rusty Russell rule of lkml etiquette, we are all allowed to
participate, or start, one massive, no-holds-barred, ugly as mud flame
war per year.  Remembering that the year was going to be over soon and I
didn't think I had met my quota for this yet, I started to respond to
this email.

But after composing it, I realized that it was not going to change
anyone's feelings about the manner, nor cause anything constructive to
ever occur, besides giving zillions of electrons something to do
lighting up /. comment threads.  So I've deleted it, and will just
respond with this simple line:

  I respectively disagree with your opinion, so we will have to just
  agree to disagree at the moment.

The carrots need to be pulled from the garden now, before the next rain
sets in up here in the Pacific northwest, turning them into orange and
purple mush, so I'll go do that, getting my hands dirty with real dirt,
instead of wearing out my fingertips in creating virtual mud here.

cordially,

greg k-h