I can't help but think of the classic XKCD example of breaking a user's workflow [1].

Doing research though a spinlock actually doesn't seem as unusual a hack as it would first seem, do drivers and the like not have similar issues because they don't trigger a page fault I guess?

[1] https://xkcd.com/1172/

From what I understand userspace spinlocks are particularly hazardous whereas in-kernel spinlocks are the norm