Linux Foundation Hires Developer for Kernel.org
Linux kernel developer John "Warthog9" Hawley assumes the full time role of kernel.org web administrator for the Linux Foundation (LF).
As the Executive Director of the open source foundation, Jim Zemlin, reports in his blog, two industry names ("hint: they start with letters like I and G," presumably alluding to IBM and Google) have contributed to financing a new full time position at LF. Since 2005, John "Warthog9" Hawley has been one of five administrators of the kernel.org website and can now assume the role full time. Zemlin describes Hawley's previous projects as having worked on "system operations, the wikis, the kernel.org Gitweb, the GeoDNS patches to ISC's BIND name server and a number of other things for kernel.org." Hawley also participated in other Open Source projects, including Syslinux, OpenSSI and PXE Knife. He is even expert in non-computer roles: "In his free time he enjoys cooking extravagant meals and watching bad movies."
Zemlin considers Hawley's job as "essential" for disseminating the principles behind which the worldwide distributed development of the Linux kernel functions. He describes the website's role as "the actual physical space - in cyberspace - where kernel developers get their work done. Without it, nothing happens." Zemlin further describes why the availability of kernel.org is essential for the Linux distribution and, therefore, for the foundation: "It is the primary site for the Linux kernel source and git, the distributed revision control/software management project created by Linus Torvalds." While this undertaking would not necessarily guarantee the success of an organization, Zemlin considers it a core competence of the Linux Foundation. "We marshal the forces of our members - they would have a hard time hiring the person directly... The model works. "
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.

News
-
Linux Kernel 6.17 is Available
Linus Torvalds has announced that the latest kernel has been released with plenty of core improvements and even more hardware support.
-
Kali Linux 2025.3 Released with New Hacking Tools
If you're a Kali Linux fan, you'll be glad to know that the third release of this famous pen-testing distribution is now available with updates for key components.
-
Zorin OS 18 Beta Available for Testing
The latest release from the team behind Zorin OS is ready for public testing, and it includes plenty of improvements to make it more powerful, user-friendly, and productive.
-
Fedora Linux 43 Beta Now Available for Testing
Fedora Linux 43 Beta ships with Gnome 49 and KDE Plasma 6.4 (and other goodies).
-
USB4 Maintainer Leaves Intel
Michael Jamet, one of the primary maintainers of USB4 and Thunderbolt drivers, has left Intel, leaving a gaping hole for the Linux community to deal with.
-
Budgie 10.9.3 Now Available
The latest version of this elegant and configurable Linux desktop aligns with changes in Gnome 49.
-
KDE Linux Alpha Available for Daring Users
It's official, KDE Linux has arrived, but it's not quite ready for prime time.
-
AMD Initiates Graphics Driver Updates for Linux Kernel 6.18
This new AMD update focuses on power management, display handling, and hardware support for Radeon GPUs.
-
AerynOS Alpha Release Available
With a choice of several desktop environments, AerynOS 2025.08 is almost ready to be your next operating system.
-
AUR Repository Still Under DDoS Attack
Arch User Repository continues to be under a DDoS attack that has been going on for more than two weeks.