“The 's' is sad”: 4-year-old submits Linux kernel doc patch (2014)

“The 's' is sad”: 4-year-old submits Linux kernel doc patch (2014)
git.kernel.org

https://lkml.org/lkml/2004/12/20/255

[ Linux-kernel added back into the cc, because I actually think this is important. ]

On Tue, 21 Dec 2004, Jesper Juhl wrote:

> Should I just stop attemting to make these trivial cleanups/fixes/whatever patches? are they more noice than gain? am I being a pain to more skilled people on lkml or can you all live with my, sometimes quite ignorant, patches? I do try to learn from the feedback I get, and I like to think that my patches are gradually getting a bit better, but if I'm more of a bother than a help I might as well stop.

To me, the biggest thing with small patches is not necessarily the patch itself. I think that much more important than the patch is the fact that people get used to the notion that they can change the kernel - not just on an intellectual level ("I understand that the GPL means that I have the right to change my kernel"), but on a more practical level ("Hey, I did that small change").

And whether it ends up being the right thing or not, that's how everybody starts out. It's simply not possible to "get into" the kernel without starting out small, and making mistakes. So I very much encourage it...

So please don't stop. Yes, those trivial patches _are_ a bother. Damn, they are _horrible_. But at the same time, the devil is in the detail, and they are needed in the long run. Both the patches themselves, and the people that grew up on them.