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> Brilliant jerks are often to be found at the beating heart of successful software. Exhibit 0: Linus Torvalds

by dcposch 10y ago

astrodust 10y ago
Exhibit B: Steve Ballmer.
- sqeaky 10y ago
  There are multiple ways to be a jerk. Clearly Gates succeeded and Ballmer failed. The Gates went on to stop being a jerk. It would be nice to see some example of a Jerk and non-Jerk attempting the same strategy.
  - astrodust 10y ago
    Jerks and non-jerks have different approaches to building enterprises. Jerks often rule through intimidation and fear. Non-jerks build loyalty through other mechanisms. The thing is both methods, if applied consistently, produce results. The trouble is the jerk method is a lot less efficient in terms of use of human emotional capital.
- crdoconnor 10y ago
  Not brilliant. He was simply in the right place at the right time.
MaxfordAndSons 10y ago
The article is in the context of a business, not an OSS project. It's apples to oranges.
flamedoge 10y ago
To be fair, Linus is like the last line of defence for Linux. If being a jerk helps remind the strict rules that he envisioned, maybe it's working.
- aaronbrethorst 10y ago
  Ah, the tiger-repelling rock hypothesis: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fm2W0sq9ddU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fm2W0sq9ddU
  - flamedoge 10y ago
    Other people are saying he could be softer and I don't disagree.
geofft 10y ago
I'm really not convinced that Linux is successful because of Linus's jerk-ness. I think it's successful because the BSDs were under a cloud of legal suspicion in the early '90s (the USL lawsuits) and Mach didn't have zero-copy message passing, and so as a result, Linux was basically the only free software general-purpose UNIX-alike for 386s that existed. (MINIX resisted being general-purpose until 2005.) Once you have that, it's basically a matter of network effects. There are a ton of things Linus did right, of course. There are also a ton of ways he could have destroyed the project, but didn't. All of those are praiseworthy. But we have exactly one data point, and I don't think we can extrapolate a rule from that, certainly not a rule that everything he did was right. If there had been Linux and 386BSD competing on equal terms, who knows what would have happened. Brilliant jerks are, in fact, often to be found at the beating heart of successful software. That is true. But would that software have a different beating heart if not for them? Would it be more successful?
- deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]
89379232 10y ago
He may flame on mailing lists from time to time, but I prefer an honest character to CoC thumping Machiavellis who talk and behave like politburo members. The latter actually harm and exclude people while acting politely; Linus does not.
- dcposch 10y ago
  Completely agree. I have near unlimited respect for Linus. He has an allergy to bullshit. He does not mince words when preventing any kind bad code or needless complexity from entering the kernel. The same things that make some people consider him an "asshole" are the same things that make him so effective.

> Brilliant jerks are often to be found at the beating heart of successful software. Exhibit 0: Linus Torvalds

by dcposch 10y ago

> Brilliant jerks are often to be found at the beating heart of successful software. Exhibit 0: Linus Torvalds

astrodust 10y ago

Exhibit B: Steve Ballmer.

sqeaky 10y ago
There are multiple ways to be a jerk. Clearly Gates succeeded and Ballmer failed. The Gates went on to stop being a jerk. It would be nice to see some example of a Jerk and non-Jerk attempting the same strategy.
- astrodust 10y ago
  Jerks and non-jerks have different approaches to building enterprises. Jerks often rule through intimidation and fear. Non-jerks build loyalty through other mechanisms. The thing is both methods, if applied consistently, produce results. The trouble is the jerk method is a lot less efficient in terms of use of human emotional capital.
crdoconnor 10y ago
Not brilliant. He was simply in the right place at the right time.

MaxfordAndSons 10y ago

The article is in the context of a business, not an OSS project. It's apples to oranges.

flamedoge 10y ago

To be fair, Linus is like the last line of defence for Linux. If being a jerk helps remind the strict rules that he envisioned, maybe it's working.

aaronbrethorst 10y ago
Ah, the tiger-repelling rock hypothesis: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fm2W0sq9ddU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fm2W0sq9ddU
- flamedoge 10y ago
  Other people are saying he could be softer and I don't disagree.

geofft 10y ago

I'm really not convinced that Linux is successful because of Linus's jerk-ness. I think it's successful because the BSDs were under a cloud of legal suspicion in the early '90s (the USL lawsuits) and Mach didn't have zero-copy message passing, and so as a result, Linux was basically the only free software general-purpose UNIX-alike for 386s that existed. (MINIX resisted being general-purpose until 2005.) Once you have that, it's basically a matter of network effects. There are a ton of things Linus did right, of course. There are also a ton of ways he could have destroyed the project, but didn't. All of those are praiseworthy. But we have exactly one data point, and I don't think we can extrapolate a rule from that, certainly not a rule that everything he did was right. If there had been Linux and 386BSD competing on equal terms, who knows what would have happened. Brilliant jerks are, in fact, often to be found at the beating heart of successful software. That is true. But would that software have a different beating heart if not for them? Would it be more successful?

deleted 10y ago
[deleted]

89379232 10y ago

He may flame on mailing lists from time to time, but I prefer an honest character to CoC thumping Machiavellis who talk and behave like politburo members. The latter actually harm and exclude people while acting politely; Linus does not.

dcposch 10y ago
Completely agree. I have near unlimited respect for Linus. He has an allergy to bullshit. He does not mince words when preventing any kind bad code or needless complexity from entering the kernel. The same things that make some people consider him an "asshole" are the same things that make him so effective.