RE: [PATCH] get_maintainer: only use THE REST as a fallback

[Michael Kelley]

From: Jürgen Groß <jgross@xxxxxxxx> Sent: Thursday, October 8, 2026 6:15 AM
> 
> On 08.10.26 14:51, Konstantin Ryabitsev wrote:
> > THE REST matches every file in the tree via "F: *" and "F: */", so
> > get_maintainer.pl currently adds linux-kernel@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx to every
> > patch, regardless of whether the touched files already belong to a
> > subsystem with its own mailing list.
> >
> > Only add THE REST for a file when no other matching section provides a
> > mailing list for it. Files that match no section, or only sections
> > without an L: entry, still fall back to THE REST, so every patch keeps
> > reaching at least one public list.
> >
> > Signed-off-by: Konstantin Ryabitsev <konstantin@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> > ---
> > LKML has become mostly a firehose of patches that are already going to a
> > subsystem list. The reason is THE REST: it matches every file in the
> > tree, so get_maintainer.pl adds linux-kernel@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx to every
> > single patch. During the week of Oct 1-7, 2026:
> >
> >    - LKML carried 13,641 messages (~1,950/day), 90% of which were also
> >      sent to at least one other list;
> >    - with ~2,100 subscribers, that is about 29 million deliveries per
> >      week for LKML alone.
> >
> > This issue came up during the 2026 Maintainer Summit and the consensus
> > was that "always include linux-kernel for every patch" was never the
> > intent.
> >
> > This patch makes THE REST a fallback as initially intended: it is only
> > added for a file when no other matching MAINTAINERS section provides a
> > mailing list for it.
> 
> Hmm, for me this will be a major problem.
> 
> As the Xen code maintainer I have stumbled over problematic patches which
> were NOT sent to x86 or xen ML several times, which made it possible to catch
> potential regressions early.
> 
> Having to subscribe to each potentially interesting ML (or using korgalore on
> those) would not be my preferred workflow.

+1 for me. I scan the full linux-kernel@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx list looking for
interesting items that might affect Linux guests running on Hyper-V.
Hyper-V can be a little quirky as a host, and being able to test proposed
Linux changes early helps head off regressions.

Michael

> 
> This isn't a NACK, but maybe there are others with similar interests/problems.
> 
> Or is korgalore capable of pulling ALL kernel related mails without having to
> spell out the MLs explicitly?
> 
> 
> Juergen