This looks like a total turnaround on policy, announced in a low-key two paragraph note to LKML.
The last official kernel.org "stable" kernel release was 2.6.7 or 2.6.8, I've forgotten. Since then, kernel.org has made a policy of doing whatever the heck they like, and letting distributions sort it out -- this is the reason for the lengthy tenure of the 2.6 series. (A number of non-distributors maintained their own "stable" trees, but they weren't official.)
It appears the kernel.org crew is now reverting to the old policy, wherein odd number releases are "unstable." I don't know whether that's good or bad or unimportant, but it sure is surprising.
The last official kernel.org "stable" kernel release was 2.6.7 or 2.6.8, I've forgotten. Since then, kernel.org has made a policy of doing whatever the heck they like, and letting distributions sort it out -- this is the reason for the lengthy tenure of the 2.6 series. (A number of non-distributors maintained their own "stable" trees, but they weren't official.)
It appears the kernel.org crew is now reverting to the old policy, wherein odd number releases are "unstable." I don't know whether that's good or bad or unimportant, but it sure is surprising.