I wish he had recognised this six years ago:
https://lkml.org/lkml/2012/12/23/75
This email alone set the tone for what was acceptable.
It was discussed previously:
Linus Torvalds apologizes for his behavior, takes time off
21–30 of 1001 posts
Re: Linus Torvalds apologizes for his behavior, takes time off
#22[deleted]
Re: Linus Torvalds apologizes for his behavior, takes time off
#23Good for him, I wonder how this will affect kernel development though. “Benevolent dictator for life” might not scale. And it might sound horrible; but there are some strengths involved that I feel the Linux project benefits greatly from. I figure that Linus has insulated himself very well with competent leaders, but, I don’t have much insight-
Why doesn't BDFLhood scale? Eventually people step down (Python, now Linux) -- but I'd say those projects have been wildly successful.
Re: Linus Torvalds apologizes for his behavior, takes time off
#24It's about fucking time. I personally stay away from software created by people who lack empathy; technical goodness !> creating a good environment and product for actual people. I don't go to restaurants run by douchebags either, no matter how good the food might be. And Git has the UX of software created by someone with no empathy. I hope Linus heals from this, and I hope the culture of the Linux community changes…
I'll bite, what makes a version control system empathetic?
The long answer to your question is essentially the entire field of Developer Experience Design, but good intros to it are this Joel Splosky post:
https://www.joelonsoftware.com/2000/04/10/controlling-your-e...
And this talk at pyTexas: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-vZ_E1OO_PY
I think git does have some significant design warts but I think when we use the word ‘empathy’ in this context, we should remember that we are referring to a skill not some innate quality that makes someone more or less human.
Re: Linus Torvalds apologizes for his behavior, takes time off
#25> I need to take
a break to get help on how to behave differently and fix some issues
in my tooling and workflow.
I find it interesting that this is happening now instead years/ decades earlier.
Re: Linus Torvalds apologizes for his behavior, takes time off
#26Site is down, but here's a mirror: https://www.mail-archive.com/linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org/ms...
Re: Linus Torvalds apologizes for his behavior, takes time off
#27A slowgoing development for him, still I sympathize and wish him the best while wondering ironically if personal issues aside what works best. It brings to mind fundamental organizational and management. Is it better to have a "rude" organization? Calling bullshit early and often instead of polite everything is fine stacks of lies since it would be impolite to point out having O(N!) code just can't work for anything…
"Given enough eyeballs, all bugs are shallow." - Linus Torvalds
A rude leader drives people away from the organization. It is directly counterproductive.
Re: Linus Torvalds apologizes for his behavior, takes time off
#28Maybe this will finally end the myth that "you can be rude and insulting as long as you're right" that people seem to attribute to Linus's outbursts
Yes. Tech people the world over need to remember the person. I don't even mean in a slightly soppy 'everyone is a real person with real feelings' way. I mean that in a practical sense you really hit productivity if you're rude. Simple exchanges or corrections become arguments because one party was acerbic or inflammatory which caused the second party to be defensive. The discussion gets derailed, the point gets lost. Nobody learns. The project deviates.
Social skills and emotional intelligence aren't fluff that smart people don't have to deal with. If you want to make great software and create great organisations you have to treat people with professionalism and respect.
Re: Linus Torvalds apologizes for his behavior, takes time off
#29A certain sort of ruthlessness and lack of empathy, accompanied by having an extraordinarily driven personality, certainly seems to often make things happen (see also: Steve Jobs). The ages-old question is – is it worth it? Do ends justify the means?
Re: Linus Torvalds apologizes for his behavior, takes time off
#30A slowgoing development for him, still I sympathize and wish him the best while wondering ironically if personal issues aside what works best. It brings to mind fundamental organizational and management. Is it better to have a "rude" organization? Calling bullshit early and often instead of polite everything is fine stacks of lies since it would be impolite to point out having O(N!) code just can't work for anything…
Can’t you blend them? In other words I’d love to work in an organization that can politely call bullshit early and often. It is possible to fundamentally disagree without making it personal. Really good to see him acknowledge this and tackle it head on. I hope he gains a better perspective. Thank goodness for Linus and Linux!
I don't see why you'd ever need to go further than "I strongly believe that your view is incorrect, and here is why". Attacking people is not "calling bullshit"