Here's the state of the -stable kernel trees, as of January 18, 2010.
2.6.27-stableThe 2.6.27-stable kernel tree is still living on, as a "long-term" stable release. But, I do have to warn users of this tree, the older it gets, the less viable it becomes. Not all bugfixes are being backported to this kernel version due to massive code changes in the over 2 years since this kernel has been released. I am doing my best to backport fixes that I become aware of, and I encourage anyone who does fix any types of bugs in the main kernel tree to let me know if the change should be applied to this older kernel version.
I'll probably keep maintaining it for at least 6-8 more months, but after that, I can not guarantee it's viability. Note, one other developer has volunteered to pick up the tree after I am finished with it, but I can not speak for him at this time.
2.6.31-stableToday the last 2.6.31-stable kernel was released, all users of this kernel series are strongly encouraged to switch to the 2.6.32 kernel series, as there will not be any more updates for this branch in the future.
2.6.32-stableI'd like to announce that the 2.6.32-stable tree is also going to be maintained as a "long-term" stable release, living for 2-3 years, like the 2.6.27 kernel is. This is because a number (i.e. more than 2) Linux distributions are basing their "enterprise" releases on this kernel version, and it will make their lives easier if I keep it alive.
Note, the viability of me keeping this tree alive for such a length of time relies on the developers working for those distros to keep me informed of patches that need to be backported and applied to it. Without their help, I will have no problem in stopping the maintenance of the tree.
Submitting patches for stable treesAgain, the easiest way to get your patch into a -stable tree is to merely add the line:
Cc: stable <stable@kernel.org>
to the Signed-off-by: area of your patch. When the patch goes into Linus's tree, it will be automatically sent to the stable address, and I will know to apply it to the trees. If I have any problem applying it at that time, I will email the author and reviewers of the patch about it.
If you forgot to add this line to the patch, or you have found a patch written by someone else that you wish to have applied to the stable trees, email the git commit id of the patch as it shows up in Linus's tree to the stable@kernel.org email address. Any stable correspondence sent to my personal accounts has the chance of being lost in the shuffle, so please try to not do that.
If a patch needs to be backported to one of the stable trees because it does not apply directly, please send the backported patch, along with the git commit id of the original patch, to the stable@kernel.org address, with a description of which kernel tree it should be applied to.
If anyone has any other questions about stable releases, please let me know.