There's an implicit idea around our culture that the more uncontrolled emotional content that someone communicates, especially anger, the more 'honest' they are

There's an implicit idea around our culture that the more uncontrolled emotional content that someone communicates, especially anger, the more 'honest' they are - I think because it's intimidating, leaving less room for debate; it makes reasoning very difficult, leaving even less room for a rational approach; it's message is of being uncompromising, which also cuts off any thinking or discussion. By eliminating thinking and discussion, it's simple, and I don't mean that in a good way, but that makes it appealing to people too lazy to deal with the necessary complexity of situations and who are not committed to getting the best outcomes. But it's not honest at all and it's not hard to see how it leads to bad results. Acting out is actually dishonest and it's mostly about a hidden message. It's a failure to recognize and deal with your won frustrations which you then take out on others, usually when an opportunity presents itself to rationalize your behavior - someone does something you perceive as wrong, so they become a justifiable target for the anger that's already there. What I read in the email's message is, 'I'm out of control, I'm not able or willing to mange my emotions, so you better watch out'. That is a poor management and communication technique. IMHO, a leader or manager should hold their leadership and management work product to the same standard that they hold their subordinates' technical work product. If they want the highest standards for the kernel code, they need to have the highest standards for their communication and other conduct. A great challenge of being the boss is that there is nobody to hold you to high standards; you have to do it yourself and that's not something people are good at. As they say: Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Clearly, this message could have been communicated much more effectively - while being truly honest and without hidden messages or room for interpretation - if the communicator chose to make an effort. Finally, if this form of communication is effective, do others communicate to Linus in this manner? Does he ask them to?