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> it doesn't matter though. It does matter if it means otherwise qualified contributors stop contributing or, more likely, never attempt to contribute in the f

by jfarmer 12y ago

> it doesn't matter though. It does matter if it means otherwise qualified contributors stop contributing or, more likely, never attempt to contribute in the first place. Linus doesn't know how to act any other way, but that doesn't mean there aren't other ways to act that don't harm the overall success of the project but create a more welcoming atmosphere. It's like he's trapped in this weird world where "being nice" is the alternative to being a temperamental jerk. How about being kind, patient, but forceful? Lots of technical leaders know how to strike this balance and Linux is worse of for Linus' inability to do so.

pierrebai 12y ago
I'm tired of seeing civility and toxicity being mixed up. Blogs about Linus is just one example of this type of discourse, which comflate being nice and civil with mysoginy, racism, and the like. Linus is not toxik. Furthermore, there's this notion that being nice is a free, costless attitude. Just as Nick Coghlan himself admits, being nice is hard and demand energy and time. All things that come in limited quantity. There is also an unspoken assumption in these rant that Linus is constantly being a bully. It's just not true. The fact of the matter is, in a forum, you need to be able to use a large range of attitude to deal with the wide range of people and contribution. You can nicely rebute someone on a subtle topic. It's wasted time to try to be subtle about boneheaded ideas. If you can't go termonuclear from times to times, then your opinions get muddled. The fact is, it is hard to convey the level of opposition by text alone. Using bluntness works. You also have to deal with really disruptive people. You just can't rule out never to be uncivil. It's a tool, to be wielded when needed. There is hypocrisy in demanding not to be called an idiot when you are.

by jfarmer 12y ago

pierrebai 12y ago

I'm tired of seeing civility and toxicity being mixed up. Blogs about Linus is just one example of this type of discourse, which comflate being nice and civil with mysoginy, racism, and the like. Linus is not toxik. Furthermore, there's this notion that being nice is a free, costless attitude. Just as Nick Coghlan himself admits, being nice is hard and demand energy and time. All things that come in limited quantity. There is also an unspoken assumption in these rant that Linus is constantly being a bully. It's just not true. The fact of the matter is, in a forum, you need to be able to use a large range of attitude to deal with the wide range of people and contribution. You can nicely rebute someone on a subtle topic. It's wasted time to try to be subtle about boneheaded ideas. If you can't go termonuclear from times to times, then your opinions get muddled. The fact is, it is hard to convey the level of opposition by text alone. Using bluntness works. You also have to deal with really disruptive people. You just can't rule out never to be uncivil. It's a tool, to be wielded when needed. There is hypocrisy in demanding not to be called an idiot when you are.