[$] Cramming features into LTS kernel releases

While the 4.14 development cycle has not been the busiest ever (12,500changesets merged as of this writing, slightly more than 4.13 at this stageof the cycle), it has been seen as a rougher experience than itspredecessors.There are all kinds of reasons why one cycle might besmoother than another, but it is not unreasonable to wonder whether thefact that 4.14 is a long-term support (LTS) release has affected how thiscycle has gone. Indeed, when he released 4.14-rc3, LinusTorvalds complained that this cycle was more painful than most, and suggested thatthe long-term support status may be a part of the problem. A couple of recent pulls into the mainline highlight thepressures that, increasingly, apply to LTS releases.