To the Editor:

From your article Bill Claybrook, who has not been a Unix developer for 20 years, who can not identify where the code that SCO sent him, has never attended a Linux kernel summit (held every year), is very unlikely to have ever even read the kernel developer's mailing list, and is not willing to bet his professional reputation on the fact that the code he saw was indeed copied from SCO owned code into Linux STILL thinks that the development model for Linux has to change?

Well, I may actually agree with him, but in a different way.

The development model for Linux has changed several times over the past few years, and probably will continue to change, but Bill seems to have been too distant and too isolated to see that.

Over the years Linus has turned over more responsibility to the people he trusts underneath of him, there has been more input (and help) accepted from large corporations, there has been a split (some time ago) between the production kernel (the one that most people use) and the development kernel (where new features are placed and tried). However, Linus is still the respected and trusted project leader that he has always been.

Over the past couple of years the Linux community has developed kernel workshops, where issues and directions are discussed. And finally, groups like OSDL (www.osdl.org) help with guidance, code and testing facilities for long-term, large-scale projects.

As the development methods of the Linux kernel has changed in the past, I am sure it will change in the future as needed to address additional issues. When and if this happens, Linus will still approve the change.

I would suggest that Bill try to attend the Linux Kernel Workshop. He might get a different idea of how the Linux kernel is actually put together.

Jon "maddog" Hall
Executive Director,
Linux International

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