CNET News.com editor Robert Lemos reports that a recent proposal to help Linus Torvalds keep up with patches for Linux has sparked a controversy over whether the operating system has outgrown its creator. Lemos writes . . .

“On Monday, Rob Landley, a computer programmer, writer and Linux evangelist, posted a proposal to the Linux kernel development list calling for a 'Patch Penguin' — a person who would help integrate fixes for the myriad of small problems that plague the current development kernel, Linux 2.5.”

“The proposal comes after many developers have grown frustrated with Torvalds for not keeping up with the slew of minor fixes hatched by volunteers, said Landley. A situation that, he added, that has become a source of underlying tension in the community . . .”

” . . .Linux is not outgrowing Linus' capabilities as an architect, but right now it is outgrowing his capabilities as a manager, said [Eric Raymond, a well-known open-source evangelist and maintainer of the Linux Help system]. 'If we are going to keep Linus as the architect, we have to find a way to replace him as a manager, or at least supplement his ability to deal with patches' . . .”

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