# Longtime Linux developer Darrick Wong steps back from kernel roles

> **Key takeaway:** After 23 years of Linux development, Darrick Wong is stepping back from his remaining kernel responsibilities.

**Published:** 2026-10-16T15:40:27+00:00 
**Source:** Phoronix Benchmarks & Drivers 
**Category:** kernel-os 
**Canonical URL:** https://fosswire.org/news/longtime-linux-developer-darrick-wong-steps-back-from-kernel.html 

## Summary
Darrick Wong, a veteran Linux kernel engineer, is reducing his involvement in kernel development. Following his departure as the XFS file-system maintainer in 2023, Wong has now removed himself as a code reviewer for the IOmap file-system code in a commit merged for Linux 7.3.

## End of an era in kernel maintenance
- Wong removed himself as a code reviewer for the **IOmap** file-system code.
- This change was merged into the **Linux 7.3** Git tree.
- Wong previously stepped down as the **XFS** file-system maintainer in 2023.

## Why it matters
The departure of long-term maintainers necessitates the transition of oversight responsibilities to new contributors to ensure the stability of critical file-system components.