New features and configuration defaults [LWN.net]

By Jonathan Corbet
March 3, 2010

Every merge window seems to exhibit a theme or two, usually along the lines of "how not to try to merge code." This time around, it seems to be configuration options; a few new features have shown up with their associated configuration options set to "yes" by default. That goes against established practice and tends to make Linus grumpy. He put it this way:

But if it's not an old feature that used to not have a config option at all, and it doesn't cure cancer, you never EVER do "default y". Because when I do "make oldconfig", and I see a "Y" default, it makes me go "I'm not pulling that piece of sh*t".

The message seems clear: new features aimed at the mainline should not be configured in by default.