Linus would be just as effective if he never used another swear word. It is his technical knowledge, his position as the final committer, and his willingness to stand up for what he believes in, that gives him power.

Ranting and swearing is part of who he is personally, but those are not generally required for being a good project leader.

I think the ranting and swearing help -- they make him more memorable, and therefore more generally well-known. This can then feed on itself a bit to make him more of a public "celebrity" and have more pull than he would otherwise.

I agree that his other skills are likely more important overall, and there are certainly other ways to be memorable, but I don't think you can discount the contribution of the ranting.

Without the swear words this wouldn't get as much publicity as it does, and that may help in getting Intel to change.

Linus' swearing falls in line perfectly with the FOSS movement -- to not conform to corporate hierarchy and societal norms.

Like others said, his language helps drive the point home and leaves more of an impression. It also humanizes Linus as well.

Wow I didn’t think of that but what if a woman wrote the code in that patch? Linus would be making her feel unwelcome.

There are prior examples of his writing style offending a lady who turned to actually had a pretty potty mount, herself, as well.

As long as a person doesn't pretend they've never been cruel to another person, it isn't hypocritical to call for more kindness. There is also a huge difference between using salty language to emphasize when something is massively complicated versus emphasis when calling someone a huge idiot.

As far as this particular Torvalds screed goes, it strikes me as measured for him. He is very clear about what he wants more of and what he wants less of. It's the code that is garbage, and he doesn't get overly personal other than to chide Woodhouse for glossing over the quality of Woodhouse's own contributions.

edit: ahh right, "mis-designed by morons" which is pretty inflammatory, and he should do better than that. I suspect he is trying to provoke someone at Intel into explaining their intent. Insult their intelligence, and they'll reveal something about their (possibly sinister) motive.

Why are you assuming it wasn't a female coder