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| 3 | Linux kernel project continuity
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| 4 | ===============================
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| 5 |
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| 6 | The Linux kernel development project is widely distributed, with over
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| 7 | 100 maintainers each working to keep changes moving through their own
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| 8 | repositories. The final step, though, is a centralized one where changes
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| 9 | are pulled into the mainline repository. That is normally done by Linus
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| 10 | Torvalds but, as was demonstrated by the 4.19 release in 2018, there are
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| 11 | others who can do that work when the need arises.
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| 12 |
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| 13 | Should the maintainers of that repository become unwilling or unable to
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| 14 | do that work going forward (including facilitating a transition), the
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| 15 | project will need to find one or more replacements without delay. The
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| 16 | process by which that will be done is listed below. $ORGANIZER is the
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| 17 | last Maintainer Summit organizer or the current Linux Foundation (LF)
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| 18 | Technical Advisory Board (TAB) Chair as a backup.
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| 19 |
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| 20 | - Within 72 hours, $ORGANIZER will open a discussion with the invitees
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| 21 | of the most recently concluded Maintainers Summit. A meeting of those
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| 22 | invitees and the TAB, either online or in-person, will be set as soon
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| 23 | as possible in a way that maximizes the number of people who can
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| 24 | participate.
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| 25 |
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| 26 | - If there has been no Maintainers Summit in the last 15 months, the set of
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| 27 | invitees for this meeting will be determined by the TAB.
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| 28 |
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| 29 | - The invitees to this meeting may bring in other maintainers as needed.
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| 30 |
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| 31 | - This meeting, chaired by $ORGANIZER, will consider options for the
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| 32 | ongoing management of the top-level kernel repository consistent with
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| 33 | the expectation that it maximizes the long term health of the project
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| 34 | and its community.
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| 35 |
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| 36 | - Within two weeks, a representative of this group will communicate to the
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| 37 | broader community, using the [email protected] mailing list, what
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| 38 | the next steps will be.
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| 39 |
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| 40 | The Linux Foundation, as guided by the TAB, will take the steps
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| 41 | necessary to support and implement this plan.
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