Comment by nsonha
4 years ago
we don't have the full communication and I understand that the intention is to be stealthy (why use an university email that can be linked to the previous research then?). However the researcher's response seems to be disingenuous:
> I sent patches on the hopes to get feedback. We are not experts in the Linux kernel and repeatedly making these statements is disgusting to hear.
this is after they're caught, why continue lying instead of apologizing and explain? Is the lying also part of the experiments?
On top of that, they played cards, you can see why people would be triggered by this level of dishonesty:
> I will not be sending any more patches due to the attitude that is not only unwelcome but also intimidating to newbies
From reading other comments about the context surrounding these events, it sounds to me like this probably was an actual newbie who made an honest (if lazy) mistake and was then caught up in the controversy surrounding his advisor's past research.
Or perhaps it really is a second attempt by his advisor at an evil plot to sneak more buggy patches into the kernel for research purposes? Either way, the response by the maintainers seems rather disproportionate to me. And either way, I'm ultimately grateful for the (apparently unwanted?) attention being drawn to the (apparent lack of) security surrounding the Linux kernel patch review process.
> it sounds to me like this probably was an actual newbie who made an honest (if lazy) mistake
Who then replies with a request for "cease and desist"? Not sure that's the right move for a humble newbie.