linux-kernel - Re: [PATCH] scsi: target/sbp: remove firewire SBP target driver

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Date:   Tue, 16 Jun 2020 08:34:27 -0700
From:   James Bottomley <James.Bottomley@...senPartnership.com>
To:     Johannes Thumshirn <Johannes.Thumshirn@....com>,
        Bart Van Assche <bvanassche@....org>,
        Finn Thain <fthain@...egraphics.com.au>,
        Chris Boot <bootc@....tc>
Cc:     "linuxppc-dev@...ts.ozlabs.org" <linuxppc-dev@...ts.ozlabs.org>,
        "target-devel@...r.kernel.org" <target-devel@...r.kernel.org>,
        "linux-scsi@...r.kernel.org" <linux-scsi@...r.kernel.org>,
        "linux1394-devel@...ts.sourceforge.net" 
        <linux1394-devel@...ts.sourceforge.net>,
        "linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org" <linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org>,
        Chuhong Yuan <hslester96@...il.com>,
        "Martin K . Petersen" <martin.petersen@...cle.com>,
        Nicholas Bellinger <nab@...ux-iscsi.org>,
        Stefan Richter <stefanr@...6.in-berlin.de>
Subject: Re: [PATCH] scsi: target/sbp: remove firewire SBP target driver

On Tue, 2020-06-16 at 14:13 +0000, Johannes Thumshirn wrote:
> On 16/06/2020 16:09, Bart Van Assche wrote:
> > On 2020-06-16 02:42, Finn Thain wrote:
> > > Martin said, "I'd appreciate a patch to remove it"
> > > 
> > > And Bart said, "do you want to keep this driver in the kernel
> > > tree?"
> > > 
> > > AFAICT both comments are quite ambiguous. I don't see an
> > > actionable request, just an expression of interest from people
> > > doing their jobs.
> > > 
> > > Note well: there is no pay check associated with having a
> > > MAINTAINERS file 
> > > entry.
> > 
> > Hi Finn,
> > 
> > As far as I know the sbp driver only has had one user ever and that
> > user is no longer user the sbp driver. So why to keep it in the
> > kernel tree? Restoring a kernel driver can be easy - the first step
> > is a "git revert".
> 
> Why not move the driver to drivers/staging for 2 or 3 kernel releases
> and if noone steps up, delete it?

Because that's pretty much the worst of all worlds: If the driver is
simply going orphaned it can stay where it is to avoid confusion.  If
it's being removed, it's better to remove it from where it is because
that makes the patch to restore it easy to find.

Chris, the thing is this: if this driver has just one user on a stable
distro who complains about its removal six months to two years from
now, Linus will descend on us from a great height (which won't matter
to you, since you'll be long gone).  This makes everyone very wary of
outright removal.  If you're really, really sure it has no users, it
can be deleted, but if there's the slightest chance it has just one, it
should get orphaned.

James