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Isn't this the "fallback mode" that Kees describes? It honestly seems like Linus latches on to one sentence that he doesn't like, then melts down over it. It re

by munin 9y ago

Isn't this the "fallback mode" that Kees describes? It honestly seems like Linus latches on to one sentence that he doesn't like, then melts down over it. It really seems like you should walk on very fine eggshells around him, lest he find something that angers him and then waste a lot of energy writing an expletive laced screed at something adjacent to your point.

baby 9y ago
Probably the toxic behavior of the security community has gotten to some people, including Linus. That should be a lesson to anyone in the field that this is how you create monsters.
- PakG1 9y ago
  It seems that Linus himself can naturally be quite toxic without prompting from the mailing list thread examples I've seen...
  - monocasa 9y ago
    I haven't seen a non prompted Linus rant, personally.
    - PakG1 9y ago
      What I mean by without prompting is that in all the cases I've seen, nobody's being toxic towards him. He does look prompted by the apparent stupidity that exists all around him though. I'll admit that sometimes I get annoyed by people who are less intelligent than I am, it's something I've been working on for some time. But he's on another level. :)
      - monocasa 9y ago
        You're missing the context of the rest of the discussion that might have (or might should have) been going on for months. A key component of Linus's job is to arbitrate high level disagreements on the lkml. He tends to use strong language only when something should have never reached the level of discussion that he participates in at all.
        mmjaa 9y ago
        Also (having followed him for decades now), I think its very important to remember that Linus lives and dies by the maxim: get the kernel working, or gtfo. Things which intentionally destroy a running instance of Linux, or in some way render the kernel less valuable to the end-user really, really piss Linus off - in this context. I believe this is a key aspect of the Linux evolution: the only people of any value and import, feelings-wise, are the users. Not the developers, not security experts, and so on. He has done everything to ensure that the focus stays on working code, and not feelings, but .. when he has to .. he sure climbs the tree and jumps hard on anyone trying to cut into this substance of the Linux zeitgeist. Make it valuable to the user, or gtfo.

by munin 9y ago

baby 9y ago

Probably the toxic behavior of the security community has gotten to some people, including Linus. That should be a lesson to anyone in the field that this is how you create monsters.

PakG1 9y ago
It seems that Linus himself can naturally be quite toxic without prompting from the mailing list thread examples I've seen...
- monocasa 9y ago
  I haven't seen a non prompted Linus rant, personally.
  - PakG1 9y ago
    What I mean by without prompting is that in all the cases I've seen, nobody's being toxic towards him. He does look prompted by the apparent stupidity that exists all around him though. I'll admit that sometimes I get annoyed by people who are less intelligent than I am, it's something I've been working on for some time. But he's on another level. :)
    - monocasa 9y ago
      You're missing the context of the rest of the discussion that might have (or might should have) been going on for months. A key component of Linus's job is to arbitrate high level disagreements on the lkml. He tends to use strong language only when something should have never reached the level of discussion that he participates in at all.
      - mmjaa 9y ago
        Also (having followed him for decades now), I think its very important to remember that Linus lives and dies by the maxim: get the kernel working, or gtfo. Things which intentionally destroy a running instance of Linux, or in some way render the kernel less valuable to the end-user really, really piss Linus off - in this context. I believe this is a key aspect of the Linux evolution: the only people of any value and import, feelings-wise, are the users. Not the developers, not security experts, and so on. He has done everything to ensure that the focus stays on working code, and not feelings, but .. when he has to .. he sure climbs the tree and jumps hard on anyone trying to cut into this substance of the Linux zeitgeist. Make it valuable to the user, or gtfo.