transcript

A fake email. It reads: From: Linus Torvalds torvalds@linux-foundation.org To: linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org Subject: [RFC] Remove IPv4 support from kernel, effective next merge window Date: Sat, 15 Aug 2025 10:42:00 -0700 Message-ID: 20250815-drop-ipv4@linux-foundation.org

Hey folks,

After yet another deeply technical and entirely calm discussion about HRT (High-Resolution Timers) that somehow devolved into 200+ replies, personal insults, and at least one GIF of a raccoon, I have decided it’s time to take drastic measures.

Effective next merge window, we will be removing IPv4 support from the kernel. This will both (a) resolve the maintainers’ scheduling disputes, and (b) force the world into the IPV6 utopia we were promised back in 1998.

If you need IPv4 after this point, you can either:

run an ancient kernel from before the change (good luck with the bugs), or rewrite your applications to use IPv6 and learn to love colons in your addresses. Yes, I realize this will break roughly *everything *. No, I don’t care. I have already switched all my machines to IPv6-only, except for the toaster, which unfortunately still insists on using a 192. 168. x. x address. The toaster will be replaced.

If you disagree with this decision, I suggest you take it up with the HRT maintainers. But please keep it civil this time. (Or at least keep the raccoon GIFs under 1MB.)

  • Linus
  • fubarx@lemmy.world
    2·
    11 minutes ago

    On this day of global reconciliation, they should split the difference and go for ipv5.

  • Lvxferre [he/him]@mander.xyz
    11·
    3 hours ago



    \

    Just in case you guys want to fight each other like kernel devs, and need some raccoon GIFs for that.
    GIF is pronounced /ɣi:f/ by the way.

  • Scoopta@programming.dev
    27·
    4 hours ago

    Honestly, I get this is a joke…but it unironically wouldn’t impact me, I run single stack v6, so let’s do it. I’ll grab some popcorn

    • nucleative@lemmy.worldEnglish
      10·
      2 hours ago

      Isn’t like 50% of the internet broken for you if you’re only running IPv6? It seems like so many websites , especially small ones, still aren’t setting up v6 addresses

      • Scoopta@programming.dev
        9·
        2 hours ago

        Small ones are actually often better than big ones. I have a love hate relationship with cloudflare, they contribute to internet centralization but it IPv6 enables so many sites transparently and they only let you turn it off if you’re an enterprise customer. So some guy using free cloudflare has IPv6 but not discord, ironic. That being said I have NAT64+DNS64 which lets me access the remaining legacy v4 services without having v4 on my network or devices. Although according to my firewall stats over 90% of my traffic is v6 native, the remainder is NAT64. Honestly the only services I use on a regular basis which don’t work if I disable NAT64, discord, steam, and my bank. Everything else I use is v6 native, YT, Crunchyroll, lemmy (this instance), even steam downloads (just not login ironically).

        • moonshadow@slrpnk.net
          1·
          2 minutes ago

          I tried to do this but am too old, too dumb, or a little bit of both. Shine on my dude, if there’s any resources you found particularly helpful I’d love to see them. Got as far as getting an address from my isp but couldn’t even ping it x(

      • vividspecter@aussie.zone
        1·
        2 hours ago

        NetworkManager now has a CLAT and you can install clatd if not using nm.

        But Linux is a bit behind on this tbh, especially compared to MacOS/iOS and Android (to a lesser extent) which have had mature clat support for years.

  • some_guyEnglish
    46·
    5 hours ago

    Now that’s some April Fools trolling done right.

    • lectricleopard@lemmy.world
      29·
      5 hours ago

      Me too. This is the only one that fooled me at first today. Ill take it. If you have to make a joke about ip addresses and the kernel to fool me, then I guess I’m still pretty sharp.

  • LiveLM@lemmy.zipEnglish
    8·
    4 hours ago

    If we magically got rid of IPv4, I do wonder if the world would decay to a state of utter chaos like the tabloids were touting for Y2K

    • Theoriginalthon@lemmy.world
      2·
      2 hours ago

      The amount of stuff that supports ipv6 is huge, however as most ISPs still don’t know how or want to know how to support that would be the problem. So the internet would be fine apart from a couple of sites, but I’d guess 50-80% of home/business connections would fail.

      However most mobile carriers are ipv6 native or close to it, so everyone can get on Facebook and tiktok

    • Janx@piefed.socialEnglish
      231·
      5 hours ago

      It may be inevitable, but if you wonder why ipv6 has been slow to adopt, it’s because no one want to type in 32 alphanumeric digits for every single device, every time…

      • vividspecter@aussie.zone
        5·
        2 hours ago

        it’s because no one want to type in 32 alphanumeric digits for every single device, every time…

        Use DNS; I almost never type in an IP manually. You can also make short IPv6 addresses that are just the prefix and a bunch of zeros using ‘::’ followed by one (or more) characters.

        Something like:

        2001:0DB8::1

      • CompactFlax@discuss.tchncs.deEnglish
        3·
        2 hours ago

        I’m slowly moving in the direction and have learned a lot, but in my home network, all my devices get a bunch of IPs and services seem to choose at random the IP to listen on. My ISP changes my prefix at random. Devices don’t register in DNS. So even if I use the ULA it’s a lot of fucking typing.

        I also had this thing for a while where the MAC of a bhyve VM would change at boot so even the ULA changed. That fucked me for a while.

        Opnsense lets me create aliases allowing me to create firewall rules, so at least that works now… kinda. But i haven’t figured out privacy extensions.

        So yes, you’re right, 32 digits is a lot to keep in mind.

      • mushroommunk@lemmy.today
        9·
        5 hours ago

        I mean I did say I hate ipv6…

        But seriously, I think it has more to do with it’s slightly different, easier for ISPs to just add another NAT layer or whatever instead of learn the minor differences.

        • Ekky@sopuli.xyzEnglish
          2·
          4 hours ago

          Also gives them more control, and they can charge extra for open ports.