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Linus Torvalds: 'I'll never be cuddly but I can be more polite'

bbc.co.uk

11–20 of 483 posts

Re: Linus Torvalds: 'I'll never be cuddly but I can be more polite'

#13
post #2

> That has now been replaced by a more detailed Code of Conduct - which retains the acronym, but attempts to be more inclusive and eliminate insulting and derogatory comments and behaviour. To include only this short paragraph about the new CoC and omit any reference to the huge controversy this have generated in the community is extremely biased reporting on BBC's part.

omit any reference to the huge controversy this have generated

That’s something that hasn’t happened, though. It’s a storm in a teacup, like all this stuff is.

Re: Linus Torvalds: 'I'll never be cuddly but I can be more polite'

#14
"fake it" isn't even necessarily. Just finding new ways to express the same thing that is received differently and a different approach the sender takes when sending. It's all about learning skills and how to deploy them best.

That's not to say it is EASY, but it isn't a monumental change IMO. It's just a personal API change ;)

Re: Linus Torvalds: 'I'll never be cuddly but I can be more polite'

#15
I remember looking at Linux's angrier style maybe 15 years ago (I would have been 22) and not being bothered. Someone made a stupid mistake and was getting a bollocking.

Looking at it as a 37 year old last week, I'm surprised a grown man needed to be so aggressive. You can destroy the opinion or the behavior using reason without the aggression, which distracts.

I like that Linux is changing this, though I do have concerns about the CoC being used for political purposes (eg, recent harassment of Ted Tso).

Re: Linus Torvalds: 'I'll never be cuddly but I can be more polite'

#16
post #10

If not for this guy - we wouldn't have Linux. I'd much rather work with honest person that can tell me how he really feels then nice spoken liars.

So you are either a truthful asshole or a kind liar? There are no people who are kind and honest?

Re: Linus Torvalds: 'I'll never be cuddly but I can be more polite'

#17
post #10

If not for this guy - we wouldn't have Linux. I'd much rather work with honest person that can tell me how he really feels then nice spoken liars.

If you think that nice people can't tell you how they really feel without being abusive then you're delusional.

Re: Linus Torvalds: 'I'll never be cuddly but I can be more polite'

#18
post #10

If not for this guy - we wouldn't have Linux. I'd much rather work with honest person that can tell me how he really feels then nice spoken liars.

Well, he told you how he really felt in this article. So I guess you should be OK or even happy with the new CoC, right?

Re: Linus Torvalds: 'I'll never be cuddly but I can be more polite'

#19
post #4

It's interesting that Torvalds describes himself as "not a people person", when he's a gifted communicator who has been tremendously successful at managing the community around Linux over many years. His current refinements are making a great thing even better.

This is more of a question than a critique on your comment, but: Couldn't he still not be a people person _(perhaps a poor communicator)_, and still manage a successful community? I say that because historically it's been a bit of a meme around how forceful and abrasive Linus is. Yet, he's often right, or at the very least very informed. He's a very smart man who has done very smart things. I'm not sure if the Linux…

Yes. That seems entirely plausible and even likely.

Have you ever worked with someone who is both skilled and a good communicator? It’s an excellent experience, because good people skills are like a force multiplier on those technical skills.

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