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I don't really get this. Linus and Lennart both are opinionated and tend to be pretty convinced that they're right. The difference is that Linus, if he feels yo

I don't really get this. Linus and Lennart both are opinionated and tend to be pretty convinced that they're right. The difference is that Linus, if he feels you're wrong, will tell you that you should be retroactively aborted (https://lkml.org/lkml/2012/7/6/495 https://lkml.org/lkml/2012/7/6/495), and part of the HN readership will applaud this as a wonderful example of no-nonsense project leadership. From what I recall from the systemd-devel mailing list, Lennart can be dismissive or perhaps arrogant (i.e. opinionated), but is seldom rude.

khedoros1 9y ago
I don't think that the rudeness matters. Linus's message there says "Yes, this is a problem and needs to be fixed, but here's a suggested work-around. Although, that's still a stupid way to use the interface, and you shouldn't be doing it that way." Lennart's equivalent message would be "That's a problem with you, not with my software. It was changed to support [blah]. Use it correctly, and you won't have that problem. Now, go away." In the first case, the problem gets fixed, and advice is dispensed on the better way to do things. In the second, the problem doesn't get fixed (or even acknowledged), and the universe is as it should be and always is, because The Dev Is Right.
mdekkers 9y ago
Linus and Lennart both are opinionated and tend to be pretty convinced that they're right. I am as amused as the next person by Linus' occasional invective on LKML, although I think it is sometimes a bit over the top. The difference between Linus and Lennart is that Linus tends to easily and of listen to the voice of reason, whereas Lennart, in Lennarts' mind, can do no wrong. Moreover, Linus has a 26 year history of shipping quality, working code built by a small army of developers. Lennart.... doesn't. Mentioning these two in the same breath, in the sense of "well, Linus can do it, therefore so can Lennart" is a ridiculous kind of argument.

khedoros1 9y ago

I don't think that the rudeness matters. Linus's message there says "Yes, this is a problem and needs to be fixed, but here's a suggested work-around. Although, that's still a stupid way to use the interface, and you shouldn't be doing it that way." Lennart's equivalent message would be "That's a problem with you, not with my software. It was changed to support [blah]. Use it correctly, and you won't have that problem. Now, go away." In the first case, the problem gets fixed, and advice is dispensed on the better way to do things. In the second, the problem doesn't get fixed (or even acknowledged), and the universe is as it should be and always is, because The Dev Is Right.

mdekkers 9y ago

Linus and Lennart both are opinionated and tend to be pretty convinced that they're right. I am as amused as the next person by Linus' occasional invective on LKML, although I think it is sometimes a bit over the top. The difference between Linus and Lennart is that Linus tends to easily and of listen to the voice of reason, whereas Lennart, in Lennarts' mind, can do no wrong. Moreover, Linus has a 26 year history of shipping quality, working code built by a small army of developers. Lennart.... doesn't. Mentioning these two in the same breath, in the sense of "well, Linus can do it, therefore so can Lennart" is a ridiculous kind of argument.