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posted by chromas on Thursday September 20 2018, @03:00PM   Printer-friendly
from the Code-of-Conduct+Kindness dept.

The New Yorker has its own story about Linus Torvalds temporarily stepping down from his post as maintainer of the Linux kernel:

After Years of Abusive E-mails, the Creator of Linux Steps Aside (archive)

Torvalds's decision to step aside came after The New Yorker asked him a series of questions about his conduct for a story on complaints about his abusive behavior discouraging women from working as Linux-kernel programmers. In a response to The New Yorker, Torvalds said, "I am very proud of the Linux code that I invented and the impact it has had on the world. I am not, however, always proud of my inability to communicate well with others—this is a lifelong struggle for me. To anyone whose feelings I have hurt, I am deeply sorry."

[...] Linux's élite developers, who are overwhelmingly male, tend to share their leader's aggressive self-confidence. There are very few women among the most prolific contributors, though the foundation and researchers estimate that roughly ten per cent of all Linux coders are women. "Everyone in tech knows about it, but Linus gets a pass," Megan Squire, a computer-science professor at Elon University, told me, referring to Torvalds's abusive behavior. "He's built up this cult of personality, this cult of importance."

For a research project, Squire used e-mails from Torvalds to train a computer to recognize insults. According to Squire's tabulations, more than a thousand of the twenty-one thousand e-mails Torvalds sent in a four-year period used the word "crap." "Slut," "bitch," and "bastard" were employed much less frequently during that period. Squire told me that she found few examples of gender bias. "He is an equal-opportunity abuser," she said. Squire added, though, that for non-male programmers the hostility and public humiliation is more isolating. Over time, many women programmers leave the community. "Women throw in the towel first," she told me. "They say, 'Why do I need to put up with this?' "

[...] Many women who contribute to Linux point to another open-source project, Python, as a guide for Linux as its faces its #MeToo moment.

Two Linux kernel developers turned diversity consultants are quoted in the story: Sage Sharp and Valerie Aurora. The New Yorker points out that the Linux Foundation's ten-member Technical Advisory Board will hear behavioral complaints, and all of the members are male.

Meanwhile, many people in the Linux community are upset about the move to adopt a Code of Conduct (CoC). Some of that discussion is taking place on the GitHub commit page for the CoC.


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  • (Score: 4, Insightful) by insanumingenium on Thursday September 20 2018, @04:41PM (8 children)

    by insanumingenium (4824) on Thursday September 20 2018, @04:41PM (#737581) Journal

    Well probably when he says "your code is crap". You can make any word abusive with the right context. "Your immaculate code stopped the build, again!", see immaculate is now abusive, and Catholic churches everywhere must rename or risk being labeled abusive institutions. Oh wait, that isn't how this works, that isn't how any of this works.

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  • (Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 20 2018, @04:52PM (7 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 20 2018, @04:52PM (#737586)

    That is the stupidest equivalence I have ever seen. "You should have been aborted" is a not something anyone would debate on whether it is offensive or not. I look forward to the day when we move past this PC crap and everyone just ostracizes the insanely offensive people. Don't worry, nothing will be lost because those toxic people will either make their own projects or tone down their offensiveness once they realize it has actual consequences for their lives.

    Linus is in a rather unique position, and anyone who idolizes such behavior is likely going to have a much worse life. Just see the resident spam troll who complains about open source and getting jobs, but displays so many toxic characteristics that no one is surprised they haven't been hired.

    So again, hopefully we get past this super-sensitive time in history and we all move on to just ignoring the loudmouth assholes. Save the outrage for when it is deserved instead of hopping all over every instance of a "bad word" being used, and just exclude the toxic trolls.

    • (Score: 5, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 20 2018, @05:32PM (5 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 20 2018, @05:32PM (#737616)

      "You should have been aborted" is a not something anyone would debate on whether it is offensive or not.

      My kernel my choice. You're offending people who have had abortions by implying abortion is ungood.
      Reported for CoC violation, enjoy being blacklisted personofcolorlisted, bigot.

      stupidest

      That's offensive against the differently abled mentally. Perhaps not to you, but several of your friends feel that way.

      I look forward

      That kind of language is offensive against those of us who lack the privilege of vision like you, bigot. Please use "I stumble forward" instead.

      anyone who idolizes such behavior is likely going to have a much worse life.

      Excuse me? As a linusian I find it incredibly offensive you'd say that worshipping Our Lord and Saviour Linus Torvalds leads to a bad life.

      displays so many toxic characteristics that no one is surprised they haven't been hired.

      Wow. Now you're offending those of us who gained superpowers through an accident with radioactive toxic materials. It's 2018, toxicphobia has to end.

      just exclude the toxic trolls.

      As a troll this kind of violent anti-troll language is what keeps many of us away from the industry.

      • (Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 20 2018, @06:22PM (4 children)

        by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 20 2018, @06:22PM (#737638)

        The irony here is you super sensitive little snowflakes are exhibiting the EXACT same behavior as the super serious SJW types you rail against, except instead of "be nice" your rallying call is "let me be an asshole with zero consequences".

        • (Score: 3, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 20 2018, @08:03PM (1 child)

          by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 20 2018, @08:03PM (#737701)

          you super sensitive little snowflakes

          You must be new here.

          • (Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 20 2018, @10:01PM

            by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 20 2018, @10:01PM (#737767)

            Some snowflakes react by crying like babies about someone being mean, others react by trying to bully their way past it and claim superiority. Sensitive little snowflakes no matter which. Too bad so many soylentils have zero self awareness.

        • (Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 20 2018, @11:43PM

          by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 20 2018, @11:43PM (#737863)

          Says the faggot who doesn't know that "snowflakes" is not a reversible term; it applies to SJW cucks like xirself only.

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 21 2018, @08:06AM

          by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 21 2018, @08:06AM (#738011)

          Don’t apply my rules against me!!!! Otherwise you become me!!11!

    • (Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Thursday September 20 2018, @11:16PM

      by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Thursday September 20 2018, @11:16PM (#737833) Journal

      I look forward to the day when we move past this PC crap and everyone just ostracizes the insanely offensive people.

      That quote is worth a mod point. Thank you, AC!