Linux inventor and maintainer Linus Torvalds has apologized for his abusive behavior towards others in the community and will take time off to become a better person.
“This week people in our community confronted me about my lifetime of not understanding emotions,” Mr. Torvalds writes in an open letter. “My flippant attacks in emails have been both unprofessional and uncalled for. Especially at times when I made it personal. In my quest for a better patch, this made sense to me. I know now this was not OK and I am truly sorry … I am going to take time off and get some assistance on how to understand people’s emotions and respond appropriately.”
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I was originally of two minds on this one, given my disdain for the overly-PC nature of our world today. But the truth is that bad behavior is bad behavior. And while what he’s done isn’t exactly in #MeToo territory, it’s thematically similar: Someone in a position of power has abused those with less or no power and with no sense of personal responsibility. This is, of course, unacceptable.
Anyway, Greg Kroah-Hartman will assume Torvalds’ Linux responsibilities in the interim. And Torvalds has created a new Code of Conduct to replace a previous Code of Conflict for dealing with the goal of “fostering civility and the spirit of ‘be excellent to each other’ in the Linux kernel development community.”
“In the interest of fostering an open and welcoming environment, we as contributors and maintainers pledge to making participation in our project and our community a harassment-free experience for everyone, regardless of age, body size, disability, ethnicity, sex characteristics, gender identity and expression, level of experience, education, socio-economic status, nationality, personal appearance, race, religion, or sexual identity and orientation,” the new Code of Conduct begins.
skane2600
<blockquote><em><a href="#324023">In reply to william_armstrong:</a></em></blockquote><p>"He calls people out on not being up to the standards he tries to keep for the kernel."</p><p><br></p><p>Linux is his baby and he gets to call the shots. But if you're a developer you know that "standards" are often just a personal opinion rather than a technical truth. </p><p><br></p><p>When he was asked about using C++ in Linux, he could have just said something like: "I have a lot of experience in C and it's very commonly used in operating systems and I don't see much advantage in C++. It's my project and I've made my decision that Linux will remain a C-based OS".</p><p><br></p><p>instead he went on an absurd rant about C++ and denigrated developers who use it. That's simply not professional behavior. </p><p> </p>
skane2600
<blockquote><em><a href="#324082">In reply to maethorechannen:</a></em></blockquote><p>I don't think it stopped anyone from talking about using C++. In fact, it probably lead to a lot more talk about C++ because it pissed people off.</p>
Stooks
<p>The World is too PC right now, especially in the US. Everyone is riding the victim train and spewing all kinds of what I would consider very personal/private stuff into the public, usually via social media.</p><p><br></p><p>Linus has been snarky for sure. That said just spend 5 min reading comments on YouTube or Fox News and both will make Linus seem like a saint.</p>
Stooks
<blockquote><em><a href="#324051">In reply to skborders:</a></em></blockquote><p>I do not follow Linus, but have read about some of his moments. The ones I have read about I would not consider "uncivil" and he usually is correct but his presentation is bombastic/sarcastic or snarky.</p>
skane2600
<blockquote><em><a href="#324389">In reply to Stooks:</a></em></blockquote><p>"he usually is correct"</p><p><br></p><p>So you share the same opinion. In software development design strategies, "correctness" is rarely provable. </p>
innitrichie
<p>Let's face it, he's represented the Linux userbase quite well.</p>
skane2600
<p>Good for him.</p>
skane2600
<blockquote><em><a href="#324135">In reply to locust infested orchard inc:</a></em></blockquote><p>I don't know if Linus has been "seeking perfection" or not but abusing people is neither necessary nor sufficient to achieve it. Android, of course, is entirely irrelevant to the discussion.</p>
skane2600
<blockquote><em><a href="#324267">In reply to locust infested orchard inc:</a></em></blockquote><p>Maybe you posted your comment in the wrong sub-thread? You were making excuses for Linus, not criticizing Karma in the post I was responding to.</p>
skane2600
<blockquote><em><a href="#324368">In reply to locust infested orchard inc:</a></em></blockquote><p>"I certainly replied to your comment, and did so correctly."</p><p><br></p><p>Since you said nothing about Karma in the post I was responding to and I said nothing about Karma in my post, I can't imagine why you think you were responding to my comment. </p><p><br></p><p>Here is what you said: </p><p>"This is the Linus that we all love, doing what he does best, because he seeks perfection.</p><p><br></p><p>Had it been anybody else overseeing Linux, it would have become an utter catastrophe – case in point, Android, courtesy of the biggest privacy-invasive, data-harvesting, ad-thrusting entity."</p><p><br></p><p>Please point out the part where you mention Karma.</p><p><br></p>
skane2600
<blockquote><em><a href="#324364">In reply to Waethorn:</a></em></blockquote><p>While I imagine you're just being sarcastic, one can make an argument that his belief in his own infallibility, did, in fact, lead to his death. He waited for a year before allowing the surgery that probably would have saved his life.</p>
skane2600
<blockquote><em><a href="#325236">In reply to illuminated:</a></em></blockquote><p>They also like rules and privileges, particularly on StackOverflow. IMO, more time, effort, and disk space is wasted by analism there than would be by people asking the wrong questions or not phrasing them in a "Stackely-correct" way. </p>