A patch was dropped last Friday which removed Russian programmers from the Linux MAINTAINERS file. Going forward, Russian programmers will not be allowed to contribute to the kernel.
Media outlets have cited Executive Order 14071, which is nothing new as it came out in April 2022. However, in complex environments, figuring out how Federal regulations apply to different parts of a diverse economy take some time. Apparently, about 2.5 years for someone to realize that Russians contributing to Linux violates the law.
The Linux kernel email list erupted in juvenile fury. You can almost see the fists pumping in the air and the foam on some people’s mouths:
An absolutely no-one-ever-reviewed patch, not even by the maintainers who got removed themselves – at least not on the mailing list. Then the patch just got slipped into an unrelated subsystem pull request, and got pulled by Torvalds with not even a comment.
What about the next time? Who next would be removed from the MAINTAINERS file, the kernel.org infrastructure? What if the compliance requires another XZ backdoor to be developed without further explanation? Is the kernel development process still done in public?
— “Kexy Biscuit” <kexybiscuit@aosc.io>
Indeed, with this step, we have one foot on a banana peal and the other on a 1984 dictatorship!
It’s all deep conspiracy:
We know why this has been done, and we also know who is behind that decision.
I find it pretty much shameful behaviour to not communicate openly onthe reasons why those entries got removed (or did someone have to sign a NDA?).
The fact that the only information is “various compliance requirements” already tells a lot about the real reasons.
Move the Linux Foundation to another country, please.
— Tor Vic <torvic9@mailbox.org>
And this giggle-worth gem, which actually made me laugh out loud:
Wish the US folks recalled Executive Order 11110 instead of diggin’ their own grave as ordered by the most real nazis on this planet.
— Michael Shigorin <mike@altlinux.org>
Executive Order 11110 was issued in 1963 by President Kennedy to take the US off the silver standard. If you ever read any lunatic fringe press about shadow governments and one-world conspiracies, it’s always mentioned.
And of course, this Russian programmer who is just going to take his ball and go home:
One message made him lose most of the respect he earned in Russia for good things. More importantly, our trust in Linux and FOSS in general. Very, very disappointing, even more to me as I don’t see any better alternatives.
Linus is a developer, a hacker, and one of the names everyone thinks about when it comes to FOSS. Not one of those arrogant politicians. He should have never changed.
Signed,
forever a Linux user.— aka NotYourFox <contact@notyourfox.coffee>
Oh no! We’ve lost a user!
There’s plenty more but you get the point. Russian and Chinese trolls mixed in with 16-year-olds who read conspiracy web sites.
Fortunately, the issue is pretty clear. Per James Bottomley:
We finally got clearance to publish the actual advice:
If your company is on the U.S. OFAC SDN lists, subject to an OFAC sanctions program, or owned/controlled by a company on the list, our ability to collaborate with you will be subject to restrictions, and you cannot be in the MAINTAINERS file.
Linus had his usual caustic response to all of this:
Ok, lots of Russian trolls out and about.
It’s entirely clear why the change was done, it’s not getting reverted, and using multiple random anonymous accounts to try to “grass root” it by Russian troll factories isn’t going to change anything.
And FYI for the actual innocent bystanders who aren’t troll farm accounts – the “various compliance requirements” are not just a US thing.
If you haven’t heard of Russian sanctions yet, you should try to read the news some day. And by “news”, I don’t mean Russian state-sponsored spam.
As to sending me a revert patch – please use whatever mush you call brains. I’m Finnish. Did you think I’d be *supporting* Russian aggression? Apparently it’s not just lack of real news, it’s lack of history knowledge too.
In other words, it’s the whole world who is boycotting your country, not just Linus. And btw, Linus things you suck, too.
Do I file this under Editorials & News or under LowEndLOLs…
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I also enjoy using LEBs! I have an empire of little guys for VPNs, larger guys for apps, and big guys for databases and storage. When I'm not in front a screen I'm into German Shepherd dogs, quality knives, target shooting, theology, tabletop roleplaying games, and forest hiking.
I enjoy writing technical articles here on LowEndBox to help people get more out of their systems. You can find me on LowEndTalk @raindog308
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Russians being banned makes me laugh.
I’m glad these countries are boycotting Russia (which are not the whole world, it’s mostly western countries).
I support Russia. Before it was modified by raindog308, my original message was :
“These countries boycotting Russia (which are not the whole world, it’s mostly western countries) support and for some of them even send weapons and money to Israel.”
I support Russia. Before it was modified by raindog308, my real message was :
“Why this ban doesn’t apply to Israel ? Nice hypocrisy. And no, Russians being banned doesn’t make me laugh.”
I saw lots of website and newspapers posting about how Russians love war. Russia is such a sad country.
I support Russia. Before it was modified by raindog308, my real message was :
“I saw lots of website and newspapers posting hateful things about Russians and Russia, how much we need war, but weirdly, when it came about Israel, it wasn’t the same tune.”
Ukraine supports Israel. Free Palestine :)
Russians being banned don’t make me laugh.
I’m glad lots of countries are boycotting Israel. Unlike Ukraine, who supports Israel. Free Palestine :)
I saw lots of website and newspapers posting about how Israel is the only democracy in the middle east. Israel is such a sad country. No wonder Ukraine is supporting it.
Doxing the email of the previous poster like you did and altering his pro-Russian messages just show your hypocrisy, mr raindog308.
I support Russia. I don’t support Ukraine. I don’t support Israel. And the fact you changed my 3 previous messages don’t make me laugh, raindog308
So I’m reposting my 3 original messages before they were modified by raindog308 :
First message : “Why this ban doesn’t apply to Israel ? Nice hypocrisy. And no, Russians being banned doesn’t make me laugh.”
Second message : “These countries boycotting Russia (which are not the whole world, it’s mostly western countries) support and for some of them even send weapons and money to Israel.”
Third message : “I saw lots of website and newspapers posting hateful things about Russians and Russia, how much we need war, but weirdly, when it came about Israel, it wasn’t the same tune.”
Thanks for reading me. Free Palestine :)
In other realms, the Russians are kept on board on the hope we can have dialogue and convey our views, whatever they are. P.S. 🍌 peel 🛎 peal ;-?
In other realms, the Russians are kept on board on the hope we can have dialogue and convey our views, whatever they are. P.S. 🍌 peel 🛎 peal ;-?
I hope it’ll be solved. Because going this way (I mean banning Russians) will only damage Linux and the Internet. Unless we want a divided Internet (with each country starting its own internet, and its own operating system), which won’t be great in the end.