I will also complain. I use the 32 bit x86 environment regularly for
testing. I have found several bugs and worked with upstream developers
to create fixes.
The developers never said anything like "this is a waste of time
because it was found on 32 bit". Instead, they were universally
supportive.
As an example, Thomas Gleixner said that the problem we found would
only show up on older hardware, and he affirmed that it was a bug that
certainly needed to be fixed ("NOHZ: Check for nohz active instead of
nohz enabled").
I actually think this is an _opportunity_ to engage aspiring kernel
programmers. Give them some guidance and have them actively test and
do simple maintenance of 32 bit x86. Yes, I am prepared to take the
lead on this if it is something you want to pursue.
- Matthew Whitehead
