I think it’s time the Linux maintainers put their heads together and come up with a decentralised tool for managing these issues much in the same way git was created for managing the source code of Linux
Git was created because one of those developers actually had a problem. The fact that they haven’t tried to replace the mailing list yet suggests they don’t actually have a problem with it.
The problem highlighted by this article is the flood of slop. The mailing list is almost irrelevant, because regardless of whatever alternative you use, the flood of slop will still keep overwhelming it.
Linus always praises email. He does no social media and most of his internet usage is just email is what I gather from his conversations and interviews.
There are a few thousand other developers, any one of them could start working on a replacement if it bothered them enough. Granted, a lot of them will be grey beards who are happy with mailing lists, but still, the overall friction hasn’t pushed them far enough over the edge to replace it.
Linus is also basically the most nerdy luddite to have ever existed. His opinions on a LOT of tech past the 90s is highly suspect.
Its both a upside and a downside. Its part of the reason the Linux kernel is so reliable. But it’s also been a repeating source of issues around him over the years to various degrees.
I have recurring thoughts that the kernel needs to undergo a clear fork. One branch continues on as it is today. A new branch agressively restricts scope, drops support for sub 0.1% market (in use, not last quarter’s sales) share hardware - and software. Focuses intensively on making that core functionality as reliable and secure as possible. New features? No thanks, plenty of existing features already.
I mean, seriously, what advances of the past 10 years do desktop users need? What can’t they wait 2-5 years for it to percolate down into the XLTS kernel? Mostly security, which should be mostly invisible to the users.
What do you suggest?
I think it’s time the Linux maintainers put their heads together and come up with a decentralised tool for managing these issues much in the same way git was created for managing the source code of Linux
Git was created because one of those developers actually had a problem. The fact that they haven’t tried to replace the mailing list yet suggests they don’t actually have a problem with it.
I guess the articles are about a big nothing
The problem highlighted by this article is the flood of slop. The mailing list is almost irrelevant, because regardless of whatever alternative you use, the flood of slop will still keep overwhelming it.
There are varying opinions about the quality of the reports: https://www.theregister.com/software/2026/03/26/linux-kernel-czar-says-ai-bug-reports-arent-slop-anymore/5226256
Emails don’t allow merging threads very easily. The issue is lots of duplicates. Other tools would increase the capability to handle the popularity
Linus always praises email. He does no social media and most of his internet usage is just email is what I gather from his conversations and interviews.
There are a few thousand other developers, any one of them could start working on a replacement if it bothered them enough. Granted, a lot of them will be grey beards who are happy with mailing lists, but still, the overall friction hasn’t pushed them far enough over the edge to replace it.
Linus is also basically the most nerdy luddite to have ever existed. His opinions on a LOT of tech past the 90s is highly suspect.
Its both a upside and a downside. Its part of the reason the Linux kernel is so reliable. But it’s also been a repeating source of issues around him over the years to various degrees.
I have recurring thoughts that the kernel needs to undergo a clear fork. One branch continues on as it is today. A new branch agressively restricts scope, drops support for sub 0.1% market (in use, not last quarter’s sales) share hardware - and software. Focuses intensively on making that core functionality as reliable and secure as possible. New features? No thanks, plenty of existing features already.
Almost like a Super-LTS version of the kernel?
I mean, seriously, what advances of the past 10 years do desktop users need? What can’t they wait 2-5 years for it to percolate down into the XLTS kernel? Mostly security, which should be mostly invisible to the users.