I'd say the key thing wrong with it is that it's not actionable. It doesn't express what the commenter would like to see changed. It's just general vague disapp

I'd say the key thing wrong with it is that it's not actionable. It doesn't express what the commenter would like to see changed. It's just general vague disapproval. Harsh or soft, criticism should always be actionable. The way you describe Torvalds' feedback, that's actionable, when someone is told what makes their code unacceptable, so they can correct course and try again. EDIT: I should edit to add, the post that the quote is from -does- in fact then go on to point out what it finds unacceptable. But I'm commenting just on the quote.