Re: Disabling COMPAT_FREEBSD4/5/6/7/9 in default kernel configurations

On Sat, 11 May 2024 14:26:43 +0000 (UTC)
"Alexander Ziaee" <concussious@runbox.com> wrote:

> Hello,
> 
> <henrichhartzer_at_tuta.io> wrote:
> >> disabling COMPAT_FREEBSD4/5/6/7/9 (in GENERIC)
> 
> Please, this is the heart and soul of freebsd.
> 
> Those lines in GENERIC are a symbol of hope (yes I am absolutely serious) that human beings are still grounded enough to plan and make sacrifices and to think thoughtfully. It represents an uninterrupted chain of compatibility since before I was even born.
> 
> Breaking compat is clearly against the spirit of the original rules. Please not now, please, please, not a tentative date of FreeBSD 127-RELEASE.
> 
> The alternative of rewriting them to be loadable is clearly acceptable to everyone, but no one is proposing doing that and we have literal grandmasters that designed and built the blocks of the internet calling it "hard". So this is quite a horrifying conversation for no actionable proposal.

And the (hopefully upcoming, but mandatory BEFORE disabling in
GENERIC) kernel module SHALL BE AUTOMATICALLY AND SANELY LOADED when
the old non-default ABI is used.  It SHALL be unvisible and just 100%
assured to work for old-ABI binaries (including in-the-wild ones, not
in ports collection ones).


> The societal consequences to reducing the credibility of the Principle of Least Astonishment underpinning the critical infrastructure of all humans everywhere is incalculable. Small handfulls of very inteligent and slightly autistic children everywhere in the world will become distressed, seriously.
> 
> People come here because of stability and consistency. We need to keep attracting them on that basis. Humanity, seriously, needs us to keep attracting them on that basis.
> 
> Please dont turn off compat in GENERIC until someone rewrites it to be a loadable module, or reveals that it's critically broken somehow. This is really a very serious issue to the heart and soul of this project, and honestly this made me cry.

+1.


> Respectfully,
> Alex


-- 
Tomoaki AOKI    <junchoon@dec.sakura.ne.jp>