In the interest of speedier and stabler releases for the Linux kernel, Linus Torvalds is laying down the law on kernel developers. From now on, new kernel features must come within a much sooner timeframe, rather than towards the release date, to prevent last minute changes from resulting in unneeded delays. Hopefully this will result in stabler kernel releases, and more frequent releases, as developers begin to refine their work sooner. Linus certainly has made up his mind.
"If people miss the merge window or start abusing it with hurried last-minute things that just cause problems for -rc1 [the first release candidate], I'll just refuse to merge, and laugh in their faces derisively when they whine plaintively at me, and tell them there's going to be a new opening soon enough," he said.
Several developers were complaining about last minute patches botching up good code, and this is intended to curb that.