There was a lot less competition back in the Bell Labs days. From what I've heard of people working at MS in the 80s and 90s, feedback was possibly more searin

There was a lot less competition back in the Bell Labs days. From what I've heard of people working at MS in the 80s and 90s, feedback was possibly more searing than it is on the linux mailing lists. I hope it's not the case, but based on available evidence it looks like there may be advantages to hostile environments. Maybe some people channel the stress into more ideas, fiercer discussions and better products (as Amazon does). I've never been in one of those environments first hand though.