Then we fork Linus and continue as usual.
this post was submitted on 22 Jun 2025
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Put down the lube, and step away from Linus!
Say hello to Yet Another Linus Thorvalds Android, or YALTA for short. Name was decided upon at a conference. It was the compromise option, but remember that Android (and now, also androids) are technically still Linux (and now, also Linus).
The old question of "what happens when Linus/other senior kernel dev dies" mattered far more like 20+ years ago than it does now. The kernel developers are organized quite well, Linux is in general an extremely well-organized open source project these days, and there are several who could fill in. Linus' "2nd" is Greg Kroah-Hartman, who is the lead maintainer of the stable kernel branch (i.e. the one most are using). Linus is the lead maintainer of the in-development branch.
But of course we hope that Linus continues doing this for a long time. Most people never create even one world-changing technology, Linus casually created two (Linux + Git).
Most people never create even one world-changing technology, Linus casually created two (Linux + Git).
And don't downplay that he did swear about Microsoft and Nvidia!
He just turns into a Zombie Process and keeps going
I first read “a zombie princess” and I like this idea more.
Why does it feel like I've seen this episode of Adventure Time?
nohup him now before it’s too late!
Creating a kernel is hard, Linux itself is not going anywhere.
If all current maintainers suddenly disappear, several corporations, who heavily depend on Linux, will maintain their own forks, so we will get Google kernel for phones, Amazon kernel for datacenters, Valve kernel for gaming, and probably some European initiative kernel for PCs and laptops to do document editing.
Sounds like Unix in the end.
And then comes the enshittification, like, ya know, Android.
We'll just train an AI from his mailing list posts and continue as usual.
Don't think AI could ever dream up the weird cat fights and shouting matches that happen on those lists
Please, no...
Greg Kroah-Hartman will take up the role then. He has filled in for Linus in the past.
And they never run the same version of the kernel so that if one crashes the other is still available
Someone else will take it up. Hopefully the transition is a graceful one, but it could be forked if necessary.
all linux devs just gonna apply to microsoft
We gonna fork him into isekai world!
What's the future of you? Linux probably has better chances 🤣