This commit wasn't actually made by Linus, it's someone else trolling.

> This commit does not belong to any branch on this repository, and may belong to a fork outside of the repository.

https://github.com/torvalds/linux/commit/ac632c504d0b881d7cf...

https://github.com/torvalds/linux/commits?author=torvalds

This ability to (1) forge commits from other people and (2) reference commit hashes from different forks, making them appear to belong to a GitHub repository that they were never actually pushed to, has been posted about on HN before, though I'm having trouble finding the most relevant link.

Why does GitHub let me commit as other people? (2014) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7792026

Edit: For instance, someone pulled a similar trick a year back by making a commit in a fork of the GitHub DMCA repository containing youtube-dl: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24882921

Thanks for clarifying - I was scratching my head why that commit wasn't showing up on git.kernel.org https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/lin...

For the avoidance of doubt when anyone finds this at some random point in the future: sorry, this was me.

Linus definitely jumps to mind when I think of cutting edge C++ programmers working on Windows...

other NAMEs, form the git log

  NAME = Trick or Treat
  NAME = Opossums on Parade
  NAME = Frozen Wasteland
  NAME =  Valentine's Day Edition 
  NAME = Kleptomaniac Octopus
  NAME = Nesting Opossum
  NAME = Bobtail Squid
  NAME = Golden Lions
  NAME = Shy Crocodile
  NAME = "People's Front"
  NAME = Merciless Moray
  NAME = Fearless Coyote
  NAME = Anniversary Edition
  NAME = Roaring Lionus
  NAME = Psychotic Stoned Sheep
  NAME = Charred Weasel
  NAME = Blurry Fish Butt
  NAME = Hurr durr I'ma sheep
  NAME = Diseased Newt
  NAME = Shuffling Zombie Juror
  NAME = One Giant Leap for Frogkind
  NAME = Suicidal Squirrel
  NAME = Linux for Workgroups
  NAME = Unicycling Gorilla
  NAME = Terrified Chipmunk
  NAME = Saber-toothed Squirrel
  NAME = "Divemaster Edition"
  NAME = Wet Seal
  NAME = Sneaky Weasel
  NAME = Flesh-Eating Bats with Fangs
  NAME = Sheep on Meth
  NAME = Man-Eating Seals of Antiquity
  NAME = Vindictive Armadillo
  NAME = Temporary Tasmanian Devil
  NAME = Erotic Pickled Herring
  NAME = Killer Bat of Doom
  NAME = Rotary Wombat
  NAME = Funky Weasel is Jiggy wit it
  NAME = Arr Matey! A Hairy Bilge Rat!
  NAME = Pink Farting Weasel
  NAME = Holy Dancing Manatees, Batman!
  NAME = Jeff Thinks I Should Change This, But To What?
  NAME = Nocturnal Monster Puppy
  NAME = Homicidal Dwarf Hamster
  NAME=Avast! A bilge rat!
  NAME=Crazed Snow-Weasel
  NAME=Lordi Rules
  NAME=Sliding Snow Leopard
  NAME=Affluent Albatross
  NAME=Woozy Numbat

For anyone who is confused by the lack of context: the poster is showing us an issue with the GitHub UI which was circulated on Twitter today.

This issue makes it look like a commit in a fork is actually on the upstream repository - and you can also make a commit with any email address you like, for instance with Torvald's.

To be fair, the previous names were also jokes like Gobble Gobble / Trick of Treat etc, so i wouldn't assume its something to be taken seriously!

https://github.com/torvalds/linux/blame/0280e3c58f92b2fe0e8f...

https://github.com/torvalds/linux/blame/8ced7ca3570333998ad2...

The real Satoshi could only dream of doing the kind of work that Linus has done. Perhaps not even that.

The relevant line: https://github.com/torvalds/linux/blob/ac632c504d0b881d7cfb4...

What's the backstory on why Linus is submitting a patch with a variable stating "I am Satoshi"

He didn't. GitHub didn't verify the author here, and they store forks of the same repo together, so you can sorta spoof whose repo a given commit hash is under.

Kernels have funny or odd names. This isn't anything out of the ordinary: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux_kernel_version_history Linus is just trolling folks.

Some past names have been:

- Hurr durr I'ma sheep

- Kleptomaniac Octopus

- Blurry Fish Butt

- Psychotic Stoned Sheep

The variable is the name of that version of Linux, the version being the still unreleased Linux 5.17-rc2.

Basically, he's naming the release the "I am Satoshi" release. The previous one was "Gobble Gobble".

If this was true, it'd be a great movie in about 10 years.

It works better if you imagine Tony Curtis in a toga.

Sooooooo cringe. And also, why is this flagged?

Better than being a turkey

Is this just trolling, or is there a reason to believe he could/could not be Satoshi?

I don't think there is any real evidence or logic in thinking he is. If he had come up with the idea he is smart enough to have also thought up some of the negative consequences as well. Whoever did the work either didn't consider them or didn't care. And Linus doesn't strike me as that kind of person.

look at all the post revskill has made…same scheme on other posts

Right

lol he's such a troll

So Either 1) Linus Torvalds is asserting he is Satoshi Nakamoto, inventor of Bitcoin. 2) Someone hacked Linus’ GitHub account. 3) Someone used a technique on git to change the author and claim they are Satoshi.

IMO: Most likely is 2 or 3.

Actually, it's more likely that it's:

2b) Someone is using GitHub trickery to display a commit in another repo as belonging to that repo (see other comments), without actually compromising any accounts.

4) Linus decided on a funny name for the release.

Neither; this is some random text in a fork's branch, not the main repo, that Github allows to show up as part of the main repo somehow. Terrible UX from Github's side that leads to people thinking this is part of the main repo. (So it's not 3rd because they didn't "change the author" on master, it's just not on master).

> This commit does not belong to any branch on this repository, and may belong to a fork outside of the repository. So, #3