"Linode’s technical writing team" This is the key. Someone has ownership over the docs. This is their job. If you expect programmers to invest into good docs,

"Linode’s technical writing team" This is the key. Someone has ownership over the docs. This is their job. If you expect programmers to invest into good docs, you need to measure them on it. Otherwise, you are hoping they write good docs. If you don't value the docs they write, they probably won't spend time on it. Like most people, they will put effort into what gets measured at performance review time.