Greg Kroah-Hartman decided to stir the pot by removing 11 maintainers, presumably working in Russian companies, from the Linux kernel list. Imagine him walking into the room and saying, “Alright, folks, due to ‘various compliance requirements,’ you’re no longer needed here.” Now, everyone’s scratching their heads, trying to figure out what this mysterious 'compliance' thing even means. Probably something like those IKEA instructions — everything’s laid out, but good luck putting it together.
Geert Uytterhoeven, the maintainer for the m68k Linux port, chimed in, throwing some more fuel on the fire: "Could someone please explain what these 'various requirements' actually are? And what kind of documentation are they supposed to provide to get back in the game? Right now, it just looks like ‘you’re out because we said so.’"
It turns out that these guys can only return if they submit the right paperwork. But what kind of paperwork are we talking about? Maybe a picture of their cat next to a Linux kernel? A coding test over coffee? Or perhaps they simply didn’t update their antivirus software in time — and boom, they’re out.
No one’s entirely sure what’s going on, the rules are vague, and there’s no response yet. But hey, everyone’s waiting for the next episode in this cyber-drama titled “The Maintainers and the Mystery of Compliance.”
