Linus is right but his choice of words seems unprofessional bordering on harassment. Almost sounds childish in parts, especially the ALL CAPS screaming he does. Its cool to be passionate but also be civil.
Linus has addressed so called "professionalism" several times, one of the best discussions is here: https://lkml.org/lkml/2013/7/15/427 ; Linus's point of view on overall "professionalism": https://lkml.org/lkml/2013/7/15/547
A regression is the kernel not giving the same result with the same user space
391–400 of 408 posts
Re: A regression is the kernel not giving the same result with the same user space
#392Earlier quoted context omitted.
It is a "less developed state". Software that worked, no longer works. That's what a software regression is . The fact that you don't even understand the definition you quoted makes me...etc etc
No, a software regression is when you fix a specific problem and re-introduce it later on in a code revision. That's literally the definition of a regression bug. That definition has been around since the 70s and I don't think any of you have the designated rights or privileges to change or modify or append that definition.
The definition as I gave it was used in the 1975 edition of "The Mythical Man-Month". Is that good enough for you?
Re: A regression is the kernel not giving the same result with the same user space
#393Earlier quoted context omitted.
I understand where you're coming from. It's important to take the cultures and expectations of each participant if one's goal is to communicate effectively. And that goes both ways. Both the speaker and the listener need to take this into account. If one's dogmatic, believing that requiring any change on their own part to accommodate the listener, that gets in the way of the goal of communicating effectively, just as…
And part of that is understanding when those perspectives are valuable and when they are irrelevant noise. I'd wager (but have no way of proving) that the quality of the Linux kernel has not been negatively impacted by a lack of people who get upset over word choice. Culture ownership is a thing, and Linus and team were there first. Oncomers need to adapt, or go elsewhere. They certainly don't need to provide this co…
I don't think that would be a good argument to make from either perspective. If people who choose to leave the community don't contribute you can't really measure lost contribution.
That not being the crux of the issue, we should focus on the following.
Just because a product is successful does not mean that the abuse that happens during development of that product is good or okay. And I think that's really the gist of what people are saying.
Re: A regression is the kernel not giving the same result with the same user space
#394Earlier quoted context omitted.
I know, I know. We've been having some interesting discussions about Clojure, Haskell and dynamic and static typing on these stories https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15602658 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15593069 My comment was intended to be a wry one referencing those very interesting discussions and hinting that if you have types then you can more easily make breaking changes internally that aren't vis…
Dubious. The maintenance argument is weak. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2V1FtfBDsLU&feature=youtu.be...
Re: A regression is the kernel not giving the same result with the same user space
#395Re: A regression is the kernel not giving the same result with the same user space
#396Earlier quoted context omitted.
It's a cliche hacker news comment that adds nothing to the conversation: - Speaks in platitudes about the topic in a way that shows a thin understanding of the context and only sounds smart to people that also aren't familiar with the context. - Armchair psychiatry used to advance a moralizing message. - All over the place while deep in a comment thread, seemingly more interested in hearing themselves talk than carry…
Conversely, I see an insightful take on communication and hierarchy.
Re: A regression is the kernel not giving the same result with the same user space
#397Earlier quoted context omitted.
Why do we have to choose one over the other? Why can't we have high quality kernel code AND not alienating contributors?
Because enforcing politeness and civility in large groups is impossible without top down leadership enforcing it, which Linus doesn’t appear to want to do. He has chosen code over comfort as the de facto leader of the project.
Re: A regression is the kernel not giving the same result with the same user space
#398Earlier quoted context omitted.
My point is that tons of people in this thread seem to think this style of communication is really great because it's emphatic and gets the point across clearly or something. I'm trying to highlight that maybe it's not so great if you're on the receiving end of it. I'm sure a bunch of hypocrites will flag me down, though.
I've noticed others mention that it's context dependent: what's acceptable in some communities is not acceptable in others. Your comment, if meant in earnest, while it may be acceptable when uttered by Linus on the kernel mailing list (I'm extrapolating here based on the few comments I've perused in this thread), is not acceptable on HN. Given the different conditions, I don't think it would produce anything meaningf…
Re: A regression is the kernel not giving the same result with the same user space
#399Earlier quoted context omitted.
As the author of the comment in question, I think some of parent comment is fair criticism - that my comment is general and too superficial, without a strong basis in fact and it doesn't contribute much hard knowledge; it's all analysis. Also, it's long. I considered those things myself before I posted it. However, I didn't see how to overcome them; some issues don't lend themselves to strong factual bases, and some…
Just to make sure: I found it insightful, valuable, refreshing, and the right length.
Re: A regression is the kernel not giving the same result with the same user space
#400Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yep. Not by cussing at them or raging like a toddler. If this was some Joe Schmo at a random company he'd be fired for treating co-workers like that. Since it's Linus it's hero worship.
Not sure where you're working but in every US company I've ever worked for management behaved like Linus and worse and it wasn't them getting fired.