"You are easily replacable" Bruce Peren's message to past contributors.

[freedomfromruin]

"Any actual kernel developers who leave will be replaced by one of the 
other 4000 active this year. If they have been vociferous about their 
rights to entirely unlimited conduct (and all of the side-issues that 
seem to come with that) it may be that the folks on the kernel mailing 
list are already tired of them and won't miss them."

https://news.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=12682608&cid=57394936