projects are left without maintainers [LWN.net]

projects are left without maintainers

Posted Oct 23, 2024 18:39 UTC (Wed) by turistu (guest, #164830)
In reply to: projects are left without maintainers by Cyberax
Parent article: Several Russian developers lose kernel maintainership status

How would you "document" that you're not employed by some entity? Get some kind of statement from the said entity that they're not employing you? Does that seem reasonable to you?

to post comments

projects are left without maintainers

Posted Oct 23, 2024 18:54 UTC (Wed) by bluca (subscriber, #118303) [Link] (5 responses)

By proving that you are working for a different, non-sanctioned entity for example

projects are left without maintainers

Posted Oct 23, 2024 19:04 UTC (Wed) by MarcB (subscriber, #101804) [Link] (4 responses)

> By proving that you are working for a different, non-sanctioned entity for example

After which you would, of course, be harassed online; maybe even loose your job or get harassed offline. After all, it is documented in a public changelog, that you disavowed your country.

I really hope that there was non-public communication beforehand and the people affected now are just those who did not provide any documentation.

projects are left without maintainers

Posted Oct 23, 2024 20:54 UTC (Wed) by bluca (subscriber, #118303) [Link] (3 responses)

Uh? Why would you be "harassed online" for showing that you have a job? There's literally several websites dedicated to it, like Linkedin...

projects are left without maintainers

Posted Oct 24, 2024 18:04 UTC (Thu) by MarcB (subscriber, #101804) [Link] (2 responses)

Note that I even mentioned "harassed online" as the most harmless possible outcome. Worse is possible.

Russian, domestic propaganda is very much based on a "true patriots versus corrupted individuals" narrative, where "corrupted" can get defined *very* broadly and arbitrarily. It utilizes thugs, online and offline, as helpers. Police and prosecutors look away when those thugs cross the line of acceptable - and even legal - behaviour.

You can be absolutely certain that a bunch "of true Russian patriots" is now watching the maintainers file and will challenge anyone who gets re-added. This might even escalate offline, by contacting employers, neighbors and so on.

projects are left without maintainers

Posted Oct 24, 2024 18:51 UTC (Thu) by atnot (guest, #124910) [Link]

> Russian, domestic propaganda is very much based on a "true patriots versus corrupted individuals" narrative, where "corrupted" can get defined *very* broadly and arbitrarily.

Oh, so it's just like nationalism everywhere else too :)

showing proof of employment ≠ disavowing Russia

Posted Oct 26, 2024 1:32 UTC (Sat) by hackerb9 (guest, #21928) [Link]

MarcB, are you thinking that the sanctions are by nationality? I do not think that is the case as it looks like the US sanctions actually target 500 specific entities[1] in Russia. A maintainer doesn't need to show that they work for a foreign corporation, which I could imagine might appear to some like disavowing Russia, they can show they work for some other Russian business.

[1]: https://sanctionslist.ofac.treas.gov/Home/static/sdn.html

projects are left without maintainers

Posted Oct 23, 2024 19:30 UTC (Wed) by Cyberax (✭ supporter ✭, #52523) [Link]

There is no straight answer.

Fortunately, these were not personal sanctions. So for Linux, it's probably enough to submit documentation to the LF that proves that you're working for a different entity. It doesn't even have to be an entity outside of Russia, an unsanctioned company should be sufficient.

projects are left without maintainers

Posted Oct 24, 2024 23:32 UTC (Thu) by timrichardson (subscriber, #72836) [Link] (1 responses)

I don't know how it works in Russia, but in Common Law countries, copyright of work done by an employee belongs to the employer. When you submit code, you make a statement of whose copyright it is, I believe. You need permission from the copyright owner to submit. You not actually submitting your code, you submit code belonging to the copyright owner.

If someone was to contribute code they wrote outside of their employment with a sanctioned firm, the copyright of the submission would vest with the contributor, not the employee (depending on the employment contract and the nature of the submission). The changed ownership of copyright is a significant difference, and probably significant regarding sanctions. Likewise if employment changes.

projects are left without maintainers

Posted Oct 24, 2024 23:33 UTC (Thu) by timrichardson (subscriber, #72836) [Link]

"not the employer"