The discussion revolves around the absence of a standardized cross-platform API for timers in operating systems and the challenges it presents, particularly for multicore systems. Users emphasize the complexities involved in managing timers effectively across different threads and cores, recommending dedicated timer APIs for improved latency and efficiency. They advocate for the importance of interval timers, which group timer events to minimize wakeups and enhance the overall system performance. Additionally, several comments illustrate existing workarounds, highlighting the limitations of current APIs like epoll and POSIX, while pointing out that until the broader issue of I/O facility unification is addressed, the need for portable timer solutions is less critical. The conversation underscores a general consensus on the inherent inefficiencies of existing timers and the necessity for improvements.