Linus Torvalds muses about maintainer gray hairs and the next 'King of Linux'
An interview with Linus Torvalds about succession in the Linux project has reignited debate over how large open source communities balance technical conservatism with change, especially around introducing Rust alongside C in the kernel. Commenters weigh the practical impact of adding new languages on maintainers, the risk of burnout and possible Rust-based forks, and what happens to Linux’s cohesion after Torvalds. The thread also broadens into how ideology, conference locations, and communication style shape governance in projects like Python, highlighting tensions between inclusivity, real-world politics, and a culture of blunt technical critique.
Rust in the Linux kernel
- Many welcome Torvalds’ continued openness to Rust, seeing it as a legitimate systems-language addition, not just a fad.
- Others stress practical issues: kernel maintainers would have to either freeze subsystems or learn Rust; expanding required languages has real cost.
- Some argue it’s reasonable to mandate a small fixed set of languages (e.g., C + Rust) but not an open-ended list.
- A proposed compromise is to define stable, well-documented C APIs that Rust code can depend on; resistance partly comes from subsystem maintainers who don’t want to lock down or document interfaces.
Forking vs iterating on Linux
- One side sees “go write your own Rust kernel” as unproductive and “religious”; building on Linux is more realistic.
- Another side says pushing Rust into Linux is burning out contributors and that a fresh Rust-based, Linux-compatible kernel may be the only sustainable outlet.
- There’s disagreement over whether a “Linux-compatible kernel” is meaningful, given Linux’s internal instability but stable userspace ABI; examples like WSL1 and some BSD efforts are cited as partial precedents.
Technical vs “religious” debates in open source
- Some advocate ignoring ideological or “religious” arguments to focus on technical work.
- Others counter that non-engagement in democratic communities lets one faction take over, citing Python community governance struggles as an example.
- Several note that in large OSS projects, politics, credibility, and process knowledge often matter as much as raw technical merit.
Conference locations, inclusion, and ideology
- Heated debate over Python conferences in countries with harsh anti-LGBTQ laws (e.g., Tanzania).
- One camp emphasizes safety and inclusion of queer contributors; another warns that refusing events in much of Africa/Asia/Eastern Europe effectively excludes large regions from Python’s ecosystem.
- Tension between “stick to tech” and the view that basic human rights directly affect who can safely participate.
Linus’s leadership style and culture
- Some praise Torvalds’ technical rigor and directness; others criticize his past rants as abusive, even if often aimed at senior people.
- Cultural context matters: some regions value blunt feedback and “thick skin,” others see similar behavior as toxic.
- There’s recognition that he has tried to moderate his style over time.
Future of Linux and maintainership
- Speculation about a post-Torvalds era ranges from fears of “Yugoslavia after Tito”–style fragmentation to uncertainty about successors.
- One comment notes that becoming a respected maintainer is also a long-term potential attack vector for compromising the ecosystem.