If he's correct: I'd be upset at being wrong about something, but hopefully i'd have willpower to sober up to the fact that I may in fact be wrong once in awhile.
If I'm correct: I'd be upset because a person I respect is technically wrong about something, and then decided to rant about it.
Choice C: What if the question is non-technical? Answer : Don't ask Torvalds. He's not an expert in that domain.
(truthful answer: I've been a member of a project criticized by him. It felt terrible, but not because of some personal sleight; he just happened to be correct about the inappropriate-ness of what was being used, and being wrong is a tough pill to swallow when you're young and cocky.)
As I wrote in a different comment in this thread: I would never consider contributing to the kernel because of the chance (minute as it may be) of getting the Linus-of-old treatment.
Bullying is a sustained pattern of targeted verbal or physical aggression.
A person insulting your work is not "bullying" unless they're doing it in a targeted, continuous way in order to get at you personally. It's just "insulting".
More on why you should not be using concept creep: https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/04/concept...
Should he cut down a bit on the angry rants? Sure, but in general he seems like a really nice guy and I do not think they are a big deal.