The story behind Linux kernel 4.9 becoming the next long-term supported series dates from way before it’s launch last month, on December 11, when Linus Torvalds officially announced the new branch. It all started back on August 12, 2016, when Greg Kroah-Hartman dropped a quick Google+ post to say “4.9 == next LTS kernel.” Immediately after, the media reporting began, informing the Linux community that Linux kernel 4.9 will become the next long-term supported branch, but it didn’t happen because Kroah-Hartman changed his mind a month later, on September 6, when he reserved his right to mark Linux 4.9 as “longterm” on the kernel.org website.