I have submitted a patch to the linux kernel that has gotten several reviews and gone through a couple iterations on the mailing list. It has been ACKed and reviewed by two developers, but they say it is up to a specific developer to approve the patch. This developer is relatively absent from the mailing list. I do not want to harass him personally, but I would like some sort of acknowledgement that the patch can or cannot be accepted. What is the best way to solicit feedback from this developer? Is it acceptable to send a private email to him or to one of the reviewers or is it important for all communication to be public through the mailing lists?