There are two sides to any communication, and when an attempt fails to convey the intended signal, in almost all cases both parties share the blame. One can arg

There are two sides to any communication, and when an attempt fails to convey the intended signal, in almost all cases both parties share the blame. One can argue about degree, but that's rarely productive. I think in most cases like these, where people are offended by criticism, the problem is primarily a mismatch of social expectations, rather than either party being obnoxious or thin-skinned. That said, in this case I tend to agree that ESR is doing an fairly good job at presenting his criticism in a constructive way, and it's certainly not too aggressive for Torvalds of all people.