"""
When you debug a distributed system or an OS kernel, you do it Texas-style. You gather some mean, stoic people, people who have seen things die, and you get some primitive tools, like a compass and a rucksack and a stick that’s pointed on one end, and you walk into the wilderness and you look for trouble, possibly while using chewing tobacco.
"""
Kernel developers tend to, in my experience, be a specific type of person. They are writing software that will possibly save someone's life today. Billions of dollars changing hands using their code every second.
The average programmer on HN does not write code that will see more than a couple thousand users at once. Even people at google usually don't write code as important as the linux kernel (they write on top of the kernel, usually).
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There is also some narrativ that Linus is being abusive and I kinda disagree. Linus doesn't take a dump on people who don't know better, he takes a dump on people who should definitely know better and who are long time kernel contributors in important positions. Because these people count. (Plus, he's finnish)
It's easier to discuss his profanity than it is to discuss a technical topic. (I'm not unaware of the irony inherent in this very comment.)
Kernel commits should be to a much higher standard and his way of reminding people is necessary to steer the ship.
He swears a lot. Who the fuck cares? His audience isn't HN or The Register or anyone else not doing kernel development.
The apparent desire for bland, well-scrubbed and boring is not universal. I haven't heard of a sudden increase in demand for talk therapy for kernel devs. Lots of engineers swear a lot, and that's unlikely to change anytime soon.
Now, if you'd like to discuss actual abusive managerial behavior, we could have something to talk about.