to be fair... both work hard

What he's saying is that Linus is a more behind-the-scenes person, not a public figure (although he does make quite a few controversial forum posts). RMS is out there, at the front, campaigning for his ideals.

Maybe it's because I'm up late - but I read sarcasm in that post.. RMS talks a lot (similar perhaps to the latest Nobel prize winner* (nominated 8 days into office)), whereas Linus gets stuff done.

That's essentially what I said, just the bias is swapped.

nobels are often awarded for working hard at being inspirational. i guess that is also a kind of work.