On 8 May 2018 at 21:29, Sasha Levin <alexander.le...@microsoft.com> wrote:
> > This is interesting. We have a group of power users who are testing out > -rc releases, who are usually happy to test out a fast moving target and > provide helpful reports back. We also have a group who run a -stable > kernel (-stable build/distro/android/etc) who want to avoid having to > report bugs to us. > > What we don't have is a group of people who use Linus's actual releases > (not the -rc stuff, but the actual point releases). Power users will > move on to the next kernel, and -stable folks won't touch that release > until there's a corresponding -stable. I resent that assumption :) As a 'prosumer' in this context, I try to test an early -rc (usually not until -rc2, sometimes not until later, depending on what I see on this list), and then intermittently I spread the testing to more of my desktop machines using later -rc versions. Once linus releases .0 I hope to move my current systems to that in the next few days. But as always, other things (sometimes real life, sometimes just new changes in userspace) intervene. After that, I will pick up Greg's latest if I build a new system before the next kernel release, or if I become aware of something critical (for my usage) in it. And then probably 4 or 5 weeks after linus's release I will start the next cycle of testing -rc verisons. So no, I rarely test Greg's current stable version, but there _is_ a period of some weeks where I run .0 kernels. ĸen > > Even rawhide, like Josh mentioned, will just fill back with the merge > window commits after the release of an older kernel. > > So the problem I'm seeing is that since a merge window is open only once > every 2-3 months people will sometimes try to push poorly tested code > just to make that merge window. Additionally, as later -rc releases > start showing up people will again merge poorly tested fixes just to > make it in time for that release. > > For both cases, people will push poorly tested code in the kernel just > because they want to make it in time for a kernel release that no one > will actually use. > > What if, instead, Linus doesn't actually ever release a point release? > We can make the merge window open more often, and since there's no > actual release, people won't rush to push fixes in later -rc cycles. > > We take away the incentive to push poorly tested code. Maintainers still > free to commit anything they'd like, but there's no reason to commit > code they're not confident of just to make it to a random release no one > will use. > > Merge window will happen more often, so there's no real reason to rush > things in a particular window, and since -stable releases every week > there's no rush to push a fix in since the next release is just a week > away.
