https://etherpad.fr/p/LPC2014_BOF_Obsoleting_support_for_old_hardware

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- staging was used for getting rid/word to be done
- there might be still users
- retirement tree
-- in keeps working if you don't update to recent kernel (old hardware)
- kernel summit long time ago: decided to use the staging tree for this
-- remove ARM7 no MMU support -> need to touch code, not just remove files
- what about infrastructrue? how to do we force people to use new APIs
-- Hannes: compiler warnings are not good enough, warning during boot is more helping
- user land project experience: used kconfig with several options (like depricated since version 1, depricated since version 2...) 
-- drivers have a relative good isolated api, simpler to get rid of, it could be tagged with the depricated flag; though we need to do the final step and really deprcated the driver
-- what about in kernel APIs? When do we know when and APIs is ready to be removed? -> coccinelle could easily remove all users of a intern API. Problem: XXX
- zero build time tool: checks for new code to appear which uses old APIs
- gcc has a depricated annotation. stopped using it, instead complaining fix it
- looks like we have the tools, need to connect them together
- Arnd: not convienced. The only way it works, do the hard work and remove all the users (by hand)
- Instead having your email address in the code it is better to have a URL to a wiki with your email address.
- checkpatch script: add feature to check for depricated API
-- new vendor code is likely to use old APIs
- Jes: have a switch to enable/disable the warnings, run it on regular basis to find new users of old APIs. Better than have spamming people every single time they build the kernel/boot.
- Export kernel symbols: No way to distinguish between in kernel users and real external users. EXPORT_SYMBOL_PRIVATE()? Jes: people find creative ways to workaround this limitation.
- secure boot, certificates: Hannes: want only allow 3nd party modules to use allowed function to use (enforcement)
- timeframe by depricating and removing needs to be pretty long; Jes: is not really a problem since distro have it under control
- filesystems: knowing it doesn't work anymore or hoping accessing old data?
-- 2038 problem: we know that filesystems will break. 

- Discussions with greghk afterward came to the conclusion that staging can be used to delete drivers just fine, as that had been happening for a while now already through that process.