5 ms·

“We should all follow Linus’ example”

33 points by bananaoomarang 11y ago

esaym 11y ago
>"his use of power demonstrates extreme humility" Well perhaps, but isn't that just like saying "it could always be worse"? Personally, I think he could be just a little bit nicer. But then again, as a Linux only user, I am glad "crap" code is kept out...
- J_Darnley 11y ago
  I'm mostly ambivalent on the issue though I like watching the drama created around his statements. I wonder what exactly would you want him to change to be nicer? Stop swearing, drop the shit into crap, fuck into something else?
  - nmwtwswerz 11y ago
    Isn't it obvious? Simply drop the ad hominem and swearing.
    - Mithaldu 11y ago
      He doesn't do ad hominems tho.
exception_e 11y ago
Linus: "You can disagree with me as much as you want, but during this talk, by definition, anybody who disagrees is stupid and ugly." Just a cheeky cherry-picked quote :).
nmwtwswerz 11y ago
Linus is honest and doesn't try to deceive or paint anyone in bad light. He will however use strong language; which could be very easily avoided, making his comments example worthy. Currently I think the community consensus is to not take the comments too seriously, which diminishes their effect, the opposite of what Linus is trying to do with his strong language. If only he did, he would avoid the negative online press, which preys on clicks, and the target audience could focus on the arguments made in the comments.
carsongross 11y ago
Linus is a treasure. He is a Beethoven-tier genius with zero filter, and not an ounce of psychopathy, who gave away his life's work for free. Your average entertainment figure, politician or fortune 500 C-Suiter is a thousand times bigger asshole than Linus is, they (or their handlers) just cover it up.
rabbyte 11y ago
I'm okay with tolerating verbal abuse as a gesture of compassion but no fucking way should we characterize this as an ideal. I say it that way to prove I'm not talking about offensive language, if someone said any of my code was brain damaged, I would take it as a personal attack. It's not emphasis, it's cruelty.
- k__ 11y ago
  Well, at least he gets his infos in the news quick.
mariuolo 11y ago
I've often wondered if, other than a cultural difference (see "management by perkele"), there wasn't also a linguistic aspect to it. I mean, not being a native speaker can warp one's perception of how strong some expressions are.
- Arnt 11y ago
  As can being a sailor, a typographer or, if I've understood matters correctly, Australian. Poor foreigners ;) Linus' real fault is that he's not a committee person. He doesn't accept the sort of watered-down polite mediocrity that professionals like you and me do accept. Installing mongodb because some fool in a meeting wants to and bickering about it would be unprofessional, buying IBM to not get fired (it's called "hosting at AWS" these days), etc.

esaym 11y ago

>"his use of power demonstrates extreme humility" Well perhaps, but isn't that just like saying "it could always be worse"? Personally, I think he could be just a little bit nicer. But then again, as a Linux only user, I am glad "crap" code is kept out...

J_Darnley 11y ago
I'm mostly ambivalent on the issue though I like watching the drama created around his statements. I wonder what exactly would you want him to change to be nicer? Stop swearing, drop the shit into crap, fuck into something else?
- nmwtwswerz 11y ago
  Isn't it obvious? Simply drop the ad hominem and swearing.
  - Mithaldu 11y ago
    He doesn't do ad hominems tho.

exception_e 11y ago

Linus: "You can disagree with me as much as you want, but during this talk, by definition, anybody who disagrees is stupid and ugly." Just a cheeky cherry-picked quote :).

nmwtwswerz 11y ago

Linus is honest and doesn't try to deceive or paint anyone in bad light. He will however use strong language; which could be very easily avoided, making his comments example worthy. Currently I think the community consensus is to not take the comments too seriously, which diminishes their effect, the opposite of what Linus is trying to do with his strong language. If only he did, he would avoid the negative online press, which preys on clicks, and the target audience could focus on the arguments made in the comments.

carsongross 11y ago

Linus is a treasure. He is a Beethoven-tier genius with zero filter, and not an ounce of psychopathy, who gave away his life's work for free. Your average entertainment figure, politician or fortune 500 C-Suiter is a thousand times bigger asshole than Linus is, they (or their handlers) just cover it up.

rabbyte 11y ago

I'm okay with tolerating verbal abuse as a gesture of compassion but no fucking way should we characterize this as an ideal. I say it that way to prove I'm not talking about offensive language, if someone said any of my code was brain damaged, I would take it as a personal attack. It's not emphasis, it's cruelty.

k__ 11y ago
Well, at least he gets his infos in the news quick.

mariuolo 11y ago

I've often wondered if, other than a cultural difference (see "management by perkele"), there wasn't also a linguistic aspect to it. I mean, not being a native speaker can warp one's perception of how strong some expressions are.

Arnt 11y ago
As can being a sailor, a typographer or, if I've understood matters correctly, Australian. Poor foreigners ;) Linus' real fault is that he's not a committee person. He doesn't accept the sort of watered-down polite mediocrity that professionals like you and me do accept. Installing mongodb because some fool in a meeting wants to and bickering about it would be unprofessional, buying IBM to not get fired (it's called "hosting at AWS" these days), etc.