Linux developers threaten to pull “kill switch”
It&#x27;s really, really unsurprising that ESR is at the heart of this. He&#x27;s been extremely upset about being kicked out of various programming communities after deciding that his new life goal is redefine the stereotype, &quot;Racist Old Uncle Who Totally Knows Kung Fu and Probably Invented All Modern Economics Independently.&quot; It&#x27;s equally predictable that never-been-that-relevant Mark Kern is rabble-rousing for this, as that&#x27;s practically his livelihood. In neither case should this really be mistaken for a wide-held sentiment.<p>The problem with the project and license structure of Linux in 2018 is that literally any threat the relatively small number of neo-reactionary programmers can execute on can simply be paved over by various large corporations simply assigning more resources to pick up any slack. For them, ensuring continuity in Linux is both a public commitment and an business requirement.<p>In other words: this is another ill-considered example of burning shoes you already bought in protest. Since most of substance of their work has already been turned over to the public consciousness, it&#x27;s relatively straightforward to continue with that work or to replace it if a licensing conflict comes up.<p>Doubly so since the actual slice of people who will put up this much of a fight over an agreement to adhere to professional standards is quite small.