The Plight of Linux Kernel Maintainers: Technical Debt and Community Engagement
2025-02-14
Veteran Linux kernel maintainer Theodore Ts'o details the challenges of kernel maintenance in an email. He notes that maintainers aren't all-powerful but rather the "thin blue line" striving for code quality. Contributors often vanish after their code is accepted, leaving maintainers to clean up the mess. Ts'o urges development teams to actively participate in the community, jointly maintaining code quality instead of focusing solely on short-term goals. He cites Rust for Linux as an example of positive community engagement, but also points out the need for more time to build trust and address code maintenance burdens.
Development
code maintenance