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.
Related Stories
Linux 4.19-rc4 Released As Linus Temporarily Steps Away From Kernel Maintainership
Linux 4.19-rc4 is out today as the very latest weekly development test kernel for Linux 4.19. It's another fairly routine kernel update at this stage, but more shocking is that Linus Torvalds will be taking a temporary leave from kernel maintainership and Greg Kroah-Hartman will take over the rest of the Linux 4.19 cycle.
Following the recent decision to change the location of the Linux Kernel Summit after Torvalds accidentally booked his flights to the wrong dates/location, plus other discussions happening recently, Linus Torvalds is taking a temporary leave. "I am going to take time off and get some assistance on how to understand people's emotions and respond appropriately," he wrote as part of today's 4.19-rc4 announcement.
So it begins.
Also at ZDNet.
The Linux kernel has adopted a new code of conduct. The link to the code of conduct is here.
It seems Linus Torvalds is also taking a break from being the top kernel maintainer.
The short story is Linus screwing up his scheduling to the Linux maintainers conference which was entirely rescheduled around his mistake. Then he was approached by people who are concerned about his blunt (or some consider rude) comments on the kernel dev mailing list.
I, personally, will miss Linus and I hope he gets things figured out.
[Updated 2018-09-26 20:30:00 to show the CoC is already in effect. --martyb]
[Ed Note: Given Linus Torvalds' recent decision to step down as head of Linux development for a while, and news of an attempt to install a a new CoC (Code of Conduct) on Linux development, I believe it important to communicate this to our community. It does, however, offer an opportunity for more, ummm, fire, flame, and feelings than the usual stories posted here. Let's try and keep things civil and discuss the merits (or lack of same). To quote Sergeant Joe Friday "All we're interested in is the facts, ma'am."
If you are not interested in this, another story will be along before too long... just ignore this one.
As for the code of conduct itself, take a look at: code of conduct and the kernel commit.]
Eric S. Raymond speaks in regards to the Linux CoC:
At Open Source Summit Europe in Scotland, Linus Torvalds is meeting with Linux's top 40 or so developers at the Maintainers' Summit. This is his first step back in taking over Linux's reins.
A little over a month ago, Torvalds stepped back from running the Linux development community. In a note to the Linux Kernel Mailing List (LKML), Torvalds said, "I need to change some of my behavior, and I want to apologize to the people that my personal behavior hurt and possibly drove away from kernel development entirely. I am going to take time off and get some assistance on how to understand people's emotions and respond appropriately."
That time is over. Torvalds is back.
He's a quick study if it only took him a month to learn how to understand people's emotions and respond appropriately.
See also: Linus Torvalds is back at Linux while GNU's Stallman unveils a "kindness" policy
Previously: Linus Torvalds Taking a Break From Linux Kernel Maintainership
More on Linus Torvalds Taking a Break From Linux Kernel Maintainership
Eric S. Raymond Speaks in Regards to the Linux Code of Conduct [Updated]
(Score: 3, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 20 2018, @03:04PM (4 children)
Fuck you, Nvidia.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by takyon on Thursday September 20 2018, @03:10PM
Linux needs real-time ray-traced games.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by FatPhil on Thursday September 20 2018, @03:26PM (2 children)
By pure coincidence, I came across this just today: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Mg5_gxNXTo&t=14m38s
(But you may as well watch it from the start, as there's a PC cookie to face palm at earlier in the stream.)
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
(Score: 2) by FatPhil on Thursday September 20 2018, @04:11PM
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 20 2018, @05:11PM
I love watching Linus beat down the SJWs. Suck it, Linus created the greatest open source kernel on the face of the Earth (yeah, BSD is pretty good, but I'm too stupid to run a shiny looking desktop on it) and he can speak however the hell he wants. Go ahead and cut off his funds. How long do you think it will take him to fork it and the people who support him to follow? Open source is not a zero sum game, monopolies only exist in the internet realm until someone comes up with something better. The SJW tyrants will never reign over open source, or anything more significant than their own safe space. Creating Linux took a backbone, not surprised at all he stands up to these tyrants, God bless him.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 20 2018, @03:45PM (4 children)
chose between the cost of some minor verbal abuse (which you cannot understand anyway if you don't speak english) for a stable open-source kernel -or- brain-washed prison-soap pick-up OS for which you keep paying thru your nose (but with no verbal abuse but they know where you live and who you love) with the promise for more?
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 20 2018, @04:01PM (1 child)
Or get a stable open-source kernel without the degradation of the abuse. Only a Sith deals in absolutes.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Thexalon on Thursday September 20 2018, @04:15PM
Also, while it's his baby, it's not like Alan Cox and others who have been involved in the project for a couple of decades are idiots and couldn't keep things relatively stable.
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by DeathMonkey on Thursday September 20 2018, @06:40PM (1 child)
chose between the cost of some minor verbal abuse
Realize that people who are already volunteering their time shouldn't have to pay a cost first.
(Score: 3, Touché) by Runaway1956 on Thursday September 20 2018, @11:13PM
TANSTAAFL
(Score: 5, Insightful) by urza9814 on Thursday September 20 2018, @04:07PM (27 children)
Mixed feelings on this stuff. On the one hand...this probably *is* the right way to do "diversity", compared to the "different colored clones" that most corporations do. Hiring more women but forcing them to adopt more typically masculine behavior in order to get ahead is NOT diversity. You've gotta change the management style, not just the hiring practices, otherwise you're going to end up with a "diverse" group who still keeps pushing the exact same ideas as the old group. Except with a worse implementation, because you're hiring based on appearance rather than skill.
On the other hand...it's Linus's project. He created it, it's friggin named after him even, so why shouldn't he be allowed to run it as he chooses? He's not employing people to write this code (other companies are, but pretty sure Linus himself is not;) it's all contributed voluntarily. If you don't like it, don't contribute. Fork it and see how far you can get without him. It's one thing to say that you shouldn't have to endure "abuse" as a condition of employment, but when you're doing it voluntarily it's hard to have all that much sympathy really....
On an unrelated note...when the fuck did "crap" become "abusive"?? I always thought that was the child-friendly replacement word for "shit". Ranks right up there with "Aww, shucks"...
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 20 2018, @04:23PM (1 child)
Interviewer: You're acting like a douche.
Torvalds: But it's my project.
Interviewer: Does your project require douchines?
Torvalds: You mean, is it a technical requirement?
Interviewer: Yes, is it a technical requirement?
Torvalds: Um .. no.
Interviewer: So you acting like a douche has nothing to do with your project and everything to do with you acting like a douche?
Torvalds: Fuck you, it's my project.
Interviewer: Have you met Elon Musk?
Torvalds: Yes I have. Now he's a douche.
Interviewer: Really? He says it's OK because it's his company.
Torvalds: He's still a douche.
Interviewer: I just got a text "Pot, meet kettle".
Torvalds: But it's my project.
(Score: 2) by krishnoid on Friday September 21 2018, @06:55AM
Well, it's not a technical requirement, but it's *my* project. If I'm a douche, well, then *my* project is gonna have roughly that much douchiness in it, because it's, well, *mine*. Musk can't do that because his project is a public company, so the shareholders and board of directors get to vote on how douchy he gets to be.
See? Don't you feel cleaner already?
(Score: 3, Insightful) by takyon on Thursday September 20 2018, @04:25PM (1 child)
Although Linus is apparently worth $150 million so he is not starved for cash, the Linux Foundation employs him. They could cut him off if he got too rowdy or "toxic". And of course, the project can be forked, with no shortage of Google, Intel, and even Microsoft coders to throw at it and continue development Linus-free.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 4, Insightful) by The Mighty Buzzard on Friday September 21 2018, @10:31AM
Toxicity ain't a bad thing. The goal is to find something toxic to unwanted organisms but harmless to those you want around. You know, like Purell. Linus's behavior has accomplished that goal pretty well up until now.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by insanumingenium on Thursday September 20 2018, @04:41PM (8 children)
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.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 20 2018, @04:52PM (7 children)
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)
My kernel my choice. You're offending people who have had abortions by implying abortion is ungood.
Reported for CoC violation, enjoy being
blacklistedpersonofcolorlisted, bigot.That's offensive against the differently abled mentally. Perhaps not to you, but several of your friends feel that way.
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.
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.
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.
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)
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)
You must be new here.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 20 2018, @10:01PM
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
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
Don’t apply my rules against me!!!! Otherwise you become me!!11!
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Thursday September 20 2018, @11:16PM
That quote is worth a mod point. Thank you, AC!
(Score: 3, Insightful) by DeathMonkey on Thursday September 20 2018, @06:42PM (4 children)
If you don't like it, don't contribute.
People who don't like assholes are the majority. What happens when the majority of people who can help choose not to?
(Score: 5, Touché) by takyon on Thursday September 20 2018, @06:48PM (1 child)
They weren't about two years ago. :-)
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 20 2018, @07:47PM
If, by chance, you are referring to Der Drumpf I will just point out--especially because it is widely-known to get under his thin skin--that even though he won the Electoral College he did not get the popular vote.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by urza9814 on Thursday September 20 2018, @06:53PM
Then someone starts a new fork and everyone goes there and the existing one dies. That's not a bug, it's a feature.
(Score: -1, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 20 2018, @08:01PM
(Score: 4, Interesting) by jmorris on Thursday September 20 2018, @07:27PM (2 children)
Isn't that exactly what the "diversity" game boils down to? People of every ethnic background and favored perversion coming together to think exactly alike? Because diversity of thought is the forbidden diversity, except when it isn't of course. One must be carefully trained in diversity studies and tract $current_year sensibilities most exactly to know the current rules.
Translation: Women are just as good as men, and once you remake your processes from top to bottom we will demonstrate that, but until then the fact almost every woman in tech turns out to be a diversity coordinator in the making is pure coincidence.
Sorry snowflakes, if you can't do the work, don't tell those who can how to do it.
It really is a bogus thing anyway. Linus generally flames friends when they have screwed up. It is his way of both venting and drawing a line in the sand. Most of the people getting flamed have been working with him for a decade or more and they all try to meet up in meatspace often enough to hash out real problems face to face. I think we all realize that kind of thing would be seen entirely different in some cultures but hackerdom at those elite levels is a white male thing except for a few Asians who work on that level. Linus appears to know about the cultural difference there though because I can't recall him ever lighting up an Asian contributor. And for that matter, there was a time when Aurora contributed actual code instead of politics and she never pulled flames either. Maybe that is why she is butthurt, the failure to be treated as an equal? Ya really can't win with identity politics.
But this isn't about any of that anyway. It is Intel, Google, etc. chasing off the one obstacle to a stable binary kernel interface. Being SJW infected themselves they don't realize the danger of allying themselves with the lunatics to get rid of their problem.
(Score: 2) by shortscreen on Thursday September 20 2018, @09:33PM (1 child)
Why would Google care about stable binary interfaces? Google builds walled gardens where they reserve the right to come in and rearrange the furniture whenever they want. As for Intel, they might have some interest w.r.t. x86 lock-in, but then again they already have Windows for that.
(Score: 5, Interesting) by jmorris on Thursday September 20 2018, @11:12PM
So they can kill Linux and wear its skin. Linux appearing from nowhere and upsetting the established order is not something that is going to be permitted to happen again. Close the device driver layers and close access to hardware information and Linux can stay out in a git repo forever and they won't care because it is dead and there will never be another; meanwhile the residual illusion of freedom will be helpful while it lasts. *BSD would also be dead since they look at the Linux sources to discover how hardware works and write a driver. With DRM lockdown and TPM they could really get nasty. Encrypt the modules and only allow signed kernels to receive the keys from the TPM to unlock them. Game. Over.
Notice the massive censorship that is going on right now? Apple going full censorship, Google / Youtube tossing off million plus subscriber broadcasters without a care, Facebook banhammering like the world was ending if they slack, Twitter, etc. The EU wants the memes silenced entirely. It is all being driven by the same fear, people are breaking the conditioning, slowly realizing pretty much everything they thought they knew was a lie. To nail it all back down they must eliminate any possibility of knowledge leaking past the controls. Uncontrolled hardware running uncontrolled operating systems make that an impossibility. We would build mesh networks, dark Internets, whatever it takes to evade the censors. It all must be brought under central control. Before we will smash the central controllers.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by turgid on Thursday September 20 2018, @08:15PM (5 children)
Why is it labeled "typically masculine behaviour?" None of my male friends behave like that, and I hope I don't either.
I refuse to engage in a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent [wikipedia.org].
(Score: 4, Funny) by Runaway1956 on Thursday September 20 2018, @11:21PM
Typical effeminate response.
(Score: 3, Informative) by mrpg on Friday September 21 2018, @02:14AM (3 children)
Maybe it's not typical but it's more common in men. At least in men that don't know how to control themselves.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Testosterone [wikipedia.org]
Testosterone produces aggression by activating subcortical areas in the brain, which may also be inhibited or suppressed by social norms or familial situations while still manifesting in diverse intensities and ways through thoughts, anger, verbal aggression, competition, dominance and physical violence
(Score: 5, Insightful) by The Mighty Buzzard on Friday September 21 2018, @10:42AM (2 children)
Pretty much all men in the workplace know how to control themselves. You can tell by the lack of them shooting up the place on a regular basis or even fighting. Men are not the problem. Women entering environments with the codes of behavior already sorted out and wanting to change them to their liking is. That's not equality they're asking for, that's privilege.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 2) by mrpg on Friday September 21 2018, @05:33PM (1 child)
Pretty much all men, not all, those are the problem.
(Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Friday September 21 2018, @09:19PM
History of who has been persecuted under the SJW flag puts a lie to that statement. The majority of those sacrificed on the social justice altar have been nothing out of the ordinary for the male gender. Again, equality is not what is being asked for; special consideration (utterly changing the way men work within a group) is. That's not equality, that's privilege.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 20 2018, @04:22PM (5 children)
The rag with Gucci ads on the back?
This continues to be the year of Not Being Male.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by FatPhil on Thursday September 20 2018, @04:33PM
M'kay, but by that do you mean you'll forcibly take my second one?
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 20 2018, @06:13PM (2 children)
The only way being male is a problem is if you engage in sexist behavior. You "muh opprushen" folks are getting a bit ridiculous after losing your protected status as straight white males.
(Score: 2, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 20 2018, @10:50PM (1 child)
The problem is that the apparent definition of "sexist behavior" is "behavior engaged in while being a while male".
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 20 2018, @11:31PM
I've hung out in the depths of SJWville, San Francisco, Berkeley, AND Oakland. I never had a problem, but I'm not a misogynerd so YMMV.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 20 2018, @07:54PM
There.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by FatPhil on Thursday September 20 2018, @04:31PM (4 children)
He may not proofread (or have proofread) his writings, but he still writes more clearly and insightfully than I can - so I'll leave it in the hands of Taleb, and a chapter from the excellent /Skin in the Game/; I present you, "The Dictatorship of the Small Minority":
https://medium.com/incerto/the-most-intolerant-wins-the-dictatorship-of-the-small-minority-3f1f83ce4e15
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
(Score: 3, Interesting) by takyon on Thursday September 20 2018, @04:45PM
Linux was already a dictatorship. Now it just looks like less of a "benevolent dictatorship" to some.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 5, Interesting) by Reziac on Thursday September 20 2018, @04:52PM (2 children)
Tangentially related (Taleb again):
https://medium.com/incerto/pedophrasty-bigoteering-and-other-modern-scams-c84bd70a29e8 [medium.com]
Pedophrasty, Bigoteering, and Other Modern Scams
Clearing the discourse of abuses and abusers. The more you institutionalize rules of ethical behavior that should be voluntary (say, anti-racism, anti-sexism), the more they will be used as a cover for unethical actions.
Which could be cynically rephrased as: CoCs promote bad behavior.
And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.
(Score: 2) by FatPhil on Thursday September 20 2018, @05:07PM (1 child)
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
(Score: 2) by Reziac on Thursday September 20 2018, @06:18PM
Welcome. I hadn't seen it either, so thanks for sending me off in that direction, where I then tripped over it. :)
And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.
(Score: 3, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 20 2018, @05:16PM
Fork it. It's a free software, you can grab the source and make it the way you would like. Would be more productive than complaining that others aren't doing it for you.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 20 2018, @05:22PM (18 children)
I'm really getting sick of this trend where someone is accused of some, quite human, behavior followed by resignation or firing.
They would have gone for accusing full out sexual harassment, but nobody would have believed a computer nerd would have ever gotten close enough to a female to do that. :P
Are we sure he didn't use the "n" word somewhere (oh, noes, its so evil we can't even type it here!) then he would be instantly non-personed and would starve to death in a back alley.
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 20 2018, @06:25PM (10 children)
I'm amused, all you squealing pigs probably have made a bunch of references to "pointy haired boss" and other such amusing metaphors to complain about your shitty bosses. But now your identity politics has you screaming bloody murder defending the same kind of person. At least he's a useful asshole, but it isn't like society, civility, and the newfangled term professionalism are really new concepts.
(Score: 4, Touché) by LoRdTAW on Thursday September 20 2018, @07:05PM (1 child)
Pointy haired boss in an open source project? lol.
(Score: 4, Touché) by fliptop on Thursday September 20 2018, @11:21PM
Maybe, if it's his beard.
Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by tangomargarine on Thursday September 20 2018, @07:54PM (6 children)
I'm sorry, are you saying that Linus is a PHB? This statement is laughable on so many levels.
The whole joke with the Pointy-Haired Boss is that all he knows how to do is manage (and even that is rather dubious).
In contrast, Linus is being criticized over his management style by people who say he doesn't know how to manage people, and he's the guy who originally wrote the fucking Linux kernel. So he's about as far from "boss who doesn't know how to do the work" as you can possibly get.
I can't speak for everybody here, but it sounds like a good proportion of us would rather all this political agitation in software development just went away so we can get back to actually doing useful work (see last 2 links in summary). Meritocracy etc.
Well I've found one squealing pig, at least -- you clearly have no idea what you're talking about.
"Is that really true?" "I just spent the last hour telling you to think for yourself! Didn't you hear anything I said?"
(Score: 0, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 20 2018, @08:22PM (5 children)
Thanks for proving the point. There comes a time when being unnecessarily offensive takes a toll. The age of the Wild West Internet is gone, it has now become a part of regular society instead of the playground dominated by little lost boys.
The PHB example was stretching it, but if you'd open your mind for 2 seconds you might understand the comparison. Some people put up with the abuse because they are used to it and it is just part of working on the Linux kernel, others applaud the "telling it like it is" aspect because of their superiority/inferiority complexes that are so common amongst coders. However these days coding has a much larger base and as with all aspects of civilization most people won't tolerate shitty behavior for long. Gone are the days where people will "suck it up", the small niche community you were used to is gone and you no longer have the social support to be an asshole.
So let us see, you want the political agitation to stop? Then stop being an asshole, it is a much easier solution. Linus even admits that he came from a broken family and just "doesn't care" about whether someone is offended. Well he is free to not care and has done so for a very long time. Other people are free TO care and it seems that you are in the minority. The world constantly changes, don't be the dinosaur.
Grow the fuck up, learn how to be civil and if someone comes at you with baseless or overblown accusations then call them out. This isn't rocket science and you can no longer act like a total shut-in if you want to work on community projects.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by tangomargarine on Thursday September 20 2018, @08:47PM (3 children)
It's a bit amusing how much effort social types put into coming in and "fixing" our problems for us.
"Your community would just be so much better if you accepted these rules!"
"Not interested; go away."
"You're not being inclusive! You're being mean to people!"
"So you personally feel excluded? What have you contributed to this project?"
"Um...er...well nothing, but you're being mean!"
"Thanks so much for your concern. Now shoo."
Yes, and whether it's necessary or not is a subjective statement. That one fairly recent [theregister.co.uk] scuffle, Linus chewed out the guy because he'd been telling him to knock off certain behavior for years, yet he still persisted in doing it and calling it other people's faults. At a certain point you realize they just won't listen, so you chew them out and jettison them.
Being polite and easy to get along with is great, but not when you want to get technical issues solved. To get stuff done, sometimes you have to be a bit rude.
"Is that really true?" "I just spent the last hour telling you to think for yourself! Didn't you hear anything I said?"
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 20 2018, @10:07PM (2 children)
I'm not trying to fix anything, I'm just explaining reality to you. You are free to fork the project and go all nerd-rage on people you don't like. Apparently the Technical Advisory Board thinks the CoC is necessary yet here we have you and others throwing a total hissy fit over some pretty tame stuff. Hiding behind "get stuff done" is the most laughable and childish response possible. Takes more effort to frown than to smile buddy!
So hypocrisy on SN, always a treat.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by tangomargarine on Friday September 21 2018, @02:25PM (1 child)
This is the same stupidity as systemd. If you think there's a problem, why don't you fork it, instead of trying to hostile takeover our original version we're happy with?
Yeah, funny how that keeps happening instead of a referendum. Cf. Debian.
How dare we disagree with you
FTFY
"Is that really true?" "I just spent the last hour telling you to think for yourself! Didn't you hear anything I said?"
(Score: -1, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 21 2018, @04:52PM
It isnt "yours", there is no hostile takeover, you are being a total baby throwing a tantrum. Identity politics is your thing? Ok then Mr. Persecution complex.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Thursday September 20 2018, @11:28PM
Fuck regular society.
(Score: 4, Funny) by The Mighty Buzzard on Friday September 21 2018, @11:02AM
It's not out of the ordinary is why. Your boss being a dick is par for the course. Mine is and I'm self-employed.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Freeman on Thursday September 20 2018, @07:53PM (1 child)
Saying things like the "F" word or the "N" word isn't conducive to a constructive / informative / insightful conversation. Sure, I can quite probably guess that you meant the word nigger, but guess what I don't use that word in normal conversation. I also, may not know, if you mean some other "N" word that I've not heard.
I am fully on-board with treating fellow human beings with respect and not using abusive language to communicate with others. I'm just not terribly certain that the goals of the movement are actually aligned with that expectation. Yes, Linus, could be less caustic and more respectful of others. I'm just not sure that's what the whole movement that's pushing these Codes of Conduct adoptions is trying to accomplish.
It's misogynistic to have a male only club, but not misandristic to have a female only club. It's racist to have a white church, but not an eyelash is batted at having a black church, black men's club, or black women's club. Yes, you can beat the White Male Privilege horse to death all you want. That doesn't make the opposite any less wrong. Oh, except if that white male happens to be trans, or one of the seriously too many genders that isn't "straight" or whatever the Politically Correct word for it is now.
Life isn't fair. Carpe Diem. Or you know, just sit there and take your welfare check, "free" phone/internet, and other bread and circus benefits.
Don't get me wrong, I most certainly hope and wish the best for my fellow human beings. I just don't think that going from white racist to black racist is reasonable. Racism, is a problem. Sexual harrasment, is a problem. Abuse of any sort, is a problem. Stop segregating the problems. It doesn't matter, if I'm white or black (Hmm.., what happened to all the other races?), male or female. I'm not in favor of giving up any freedoms to accomplish the end of Racism or the end of Sexual Harassment or the end of Abuse. You will never end racism, abuse, discrimination, etc. You can certainly lose your freedoms, though.
The next time you start portraying Russia or China in a better light than the USA. Why don't you start looking into what it would be like to be a black woman in Russia or China. Forget even a minority individual. Look at the Propaganda, the censorship, the "Great Firewall", and the working conditions. You want to hold up China as the savior of humanity, I don't think you know what you're talking about. China may or may not be much better / worse currently, compared to their past. I really don't know that much about their history or culture. The one thing I do know, is that they aren't anywhere near a Free People. See the explanation of the "Social Credit System." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_Credit_System [wikipedia.org] The disappearance of a Chinese Citizen. http://time.com/5394782/fan-bingbing-missing-china-chinese-actress/ [time.com] You think not having control over your credit score is bad? How about a mandatory Social Credit Score? Where the government checks up on you, to make sure you're being a "good citizen". Whatever a "good citizen" may be defined as at that moment.
The problem is the behavior, not the fact that there isn't enough of XYZ class of citizen in a certain field / position. You want to make a difference? Be kind, be gentle, be loving, be understanding, be humble, be courageous, and be there. To/For/With your loved ones, your neighbors, your strange uncle who no one want's to see, those less fortunate than yourself, those that are more affluent than yourself, your fellow human beings. Also, please protect the planet. I like breathing, thanks.
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 3, Touché) by The Mighty Buzzard on Friday September 21 2018, @11:03AM
Ni!
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by choose another one on Thursday September 20 2018, @08:35PM
Obviously "nobody" knows (or is capable of looking up) that Linus is actually married with several kids, and that his wife is a national karate champion. Probability of sexual harassment (of any woman) is therefore pretty close to zero...
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Thursday September 20 2018, @11:27PM (3 children)
There is a possible explanation not being considered much. Linus as been at this game for decades now. Maybe he's tired of it? Have we considered the possibility that he just wants to get away for awhile? And, "awhile" may range from months, to years.
I'm not claiming that to be the case, but it is worth thinking about.
(Score: 2) by Reziac on Friday September 21 2018, @04:24AM (2 children)
Had crossed my mind (and would be reasonable enough, if true), but got swiftly negated by all the drama from other angles.
And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.
(Score: 2) by Freeman on Friday September 21 2018, @02:55PM (1 child)
Also, Linus himself said this isn't him looking to exit stage right. 'Torvalds, who is forty-eight and lives with his family outside Portland, Oregon, made clear that he wasn’t burned out. “I very much do want to continue to do this project that I’ve been working on for almost three decades,” he wrote in a post to the Linux-kernel mailing list. “I need to take a break to get help on how to behave differently and fix some issues in my tooling and workflow.”' -- https://www.newyorker.com/science/elements/after-years-of-abusive-e-mails-the-creator-of-linux-steps-aside [newyorker.com]
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 2) by Reziac on Friday September 21 2018, @05:54PM
That too. But we'll just have to wait and see.
And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 20 2018, @06:22PM (5 children)
Crap is not likely to be used as an insult towards a person, but as a classification of the contents of a patch. Classifying it as an insult seems like its misrepresenting the content of "more than a thousand" emails.
Though removing that leaves the studies results quite unimpressive: of 21000 emails "slut" "bitch" and "bastard" were used in much less than 1000 emails.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by takyon on Thursday September 20 2018, @06:37PM (4 children)
The study could be seen as a vindication rather than a takedown of Torvalds, although Megan Squire still concludes that Torvalds "gets a pass" and has a "cult of personality".
The real "revelation" here is that the open source world often has looser standards than a professional setting, because you are often your own boss. Now people want to shame these communities into "shaping up".
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 4, Interesting) by choose another one on Thursday September 20 2018, @08:19PM (3 children)
And cults of personality are bad results in tech because... Oracle, Apple, Amazon, SpaceX, Microsoft (well maybe) ??
The real revelation is that successful technical people in the open source world are just like those in the professional one - Jobs, Gates, Bezos, Ellison, Musk, Schmidt, Whitman, and many others, all famous for being at-work major a-holes. Heck, Gates was replaced by Ballmer who famously threw chairs at people in meetings so it isn't just a one-off in each organisation, it's endemic, and maybe hereditary.
Linux is about the single most successful _and_ one of the largest (by cloc) open source projects in history, and it turns out its managed by a guy who has a "cult of personality" and is sometimes a bit of an a-hole. Well f*** me, who'd a thought it?
No, actually the real revelation is that there are still morons out there rediscovering the old news that successful technical or engineering leaders tend to be, at best "strong personalities" and at worst more than a little unhinged. I'd still rather work for an a-hole with a clear vision for a decent product and the willpower and capability to deliver it, than work for a committee of suits who totally professionally deliver stuff you are ashamed of ever working on.
(Score: 4, Funny) by Runaway1956 on Thursday September 20 2018, @11:31PM (2 children)
I've heard this referred to as "the race to mediocrity". Every mediocre numbskull desires to be as important, and as persuasive as a Linus Torvalds. And, it's just not FAIR that Linus is recognized, while the numbskull has to reintroduce himself to his own dog from time to time.
(Score: 2) by choose another one on Friday September 21 2018, @10:09AM (1 child)
I think "race to mediocrity" is only the start, the end game is a vicious circle winding up in the supremacy of stupid.
The tipping point will be when stupidity becomes a protected characteristic (after all, why shouldn't it be, it's just a mental disability isn't it?). After that you cannot discriminate against stupid, Darwin is legislated out of existence, and you have mandatory stupid quotas everywhere and the intelligent having to pretend to be stupid in order to get a university place or a job or a house... Then average IQ scores go down so the threshold for stupidity gets lowered so folks have to pretend to be even stupider, lather rinse repeat.
I used to think this was a long long way off and that I wouldn't live to see it, because it requires stupid in power to kick it off, these days I am not so sure.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Friday September 21 2018, @10:23AM
Pretend to be stupid? We already see this in the workplace. Maybe not all of us, but when your boss is a mental midget, but he wants all the glory, you see people coaxing him into having the most obvious of ideas. I'm not even talking about myself here. Women are especially good at this, though some men pull it off. The boss is working hard to come up with the *IDEA* necessary to perform some task. A lady named Dawn does it as well as anyone I've ever met. Dawn is a bright lady, but probably not exceptionally so. From a third party perspective, it almost looks like she's doing word association, slowly feeding the boss the idea. Sometimes it takes forever, but FINALLY she uses a word that makes everything so very obvious, that only a complete moron could avoid tripping over the idea.
At the same time, it's funny as hell, and heartbreaking. The boss keeps his job because he's such an excellent ass kisser.
Personally, the closest I can come to playing this game, is to just keep my mouth shut while the idiots work their way around to the obvious.
(Score: 2, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 20 2018, @07:28PM (3 children)
Microsoft's former director of Open Source strategy who happens to be in business with SJWs [catbox.moe]
(Score: 3, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 20 2018, @07:33PM (2 children)
Your pic doesn't tell us how he is an SJW.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 20 2018, @07:58PM (1 child)
Correct, the pic does not tell you how Shanley Kane is an SJW.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 20 2018, @11:14PM
The name Shanley alone is sufficient to prove the point.
(Score: 4, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 20 2018, @07:46PM
Sage Sharp and Valerie Aurora are completely toxic. Whatever technical merit they might have is completely overshadowed by their cruelly manipulative personalities.
To use a DnD term, they are Lawful Evil. They expertly portray themselves as victims and/or as the saviors of theoretical victims in order to gain control. They create a culture of fear, with others compelled to join in on the abuse in order to avoid being selected for abuse. They might claim to be against bullying, but their CoC itself exists entirely for that purpose.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 20 2018, @07:54PM
Its already begun, from the top down.
( and you can take your CoC and shove it up your ass. )
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 20 2018, @08:38PM (5 children)
For those who came from dysfunctional homes that did not teach you how to play nice and be polite here is a detailed set of guidelines. #YouWontBelieveTheFascism #SarcasmTag4TheImpaired
Note: you are still free to be offensive, you just might get reported. The debate here is between "grow thicker skin" and "don't be an asshole". Seems like the assholes are losing the culture war. Most of yall made the switch from two -> one space after a period, I think you can manage the minimum level of professionalism.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Apparition on Thursday September 20 2018, @09:01PM (1 child)
I still use two spaces after every period, including in text messages and IMs. It's the grammatically correct way, and I will continue using it until my dying breath.
https://www.gocomics.com/bloom-county/2015/10/02 [gocomics.com]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 20 2018, @10:15PM
It is not "grammatically correct" at all, just a convention. I used to do 2 spaces but after reading http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/technology/2011/01/space_invaders.html [slate.com] I was convinced to switch. There is no real difference in readability, and besides you might want to consider that your effort is 100% wasted unless your comment is somehow displayed differently in my browser compared to yours!
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Thursday September 20 2018, @11:35PM (2 children)
Fuck you. I just won't contribute. Not one thing - time, energy, money, advice, alpha/beta testing - and I certainly won't buy your product. Just fuck you.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 21 2018, @04:55AM (1 child)
Losing sleep faster than a cat on monday.
PS that means you cant use Linux now.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 21 2018, @11:06AM
it's okay
he forked it
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 20 2018, @08:40PM (1 child)
Funny that this is regarded as some sort of rightous ideal, rather than a character flaw. So women walk away early, and men do the high stress work, and this is supposed to be an example of sexism? Yeah I'd say it is.
"for a research project, ... more than a thousand of the twenty-one thousand e-mails Torvalds sent in a four-year period"
Wow that is one hell of vendetta. Funny that in the interview, the interviewer didn't bother to ask her WTF the point of all that was. Maybe Linus wasn't nice to her because she's the kind of person who would do that sort of thing?
"Python, as a guide for Linux as its faces its #MeToo"
It's a software project, not a sociology experiment.
Call it what you will, but the results of Linus's work have been extraordinary, legendary, and unbelievably generous to all mankind.
The real questions at hand are:
How many vultures are waiting in the wings to fuck this thing up for their own machieveillian purposes? How many are going to use the great beaver revolt of 2018 (aka #metoo) as an excuse to do so? To what OS are we going to have to port if that ends up happening? And how much is going to need to be ported?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 20 2018, @10:22PM
It has been happening for a while, systemd was the coup de grace.
Whether the CoC is some sort of Trojan horse we will have to wait and see, but you nuts are freaking out way too much.
"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."
Seems like Linus himself thinks this may be a good thing, or is the DEEP STATE forcing him to apologize?
(Score: 5, Insightful) by shortscreen on Thursday September 20 2018, @09:22PM (2 children)
Some people have appointed themselves as the ultimate authority on what constitutes good manners. They say that strict enforcement of their vision of good manners will save anyone from having to deal with "assholes." This is wrong, dumb, and contrary to the principle of freedom of association. There are no objective or universal standards here. And people who wouldn't hesitate to fuck you over may be among the most polite and presentable people you'll meet.
FFS, I'd rather work with a Linus Torvalds (and risk hearing the word "crap") than any of the passive-aggressive stink-eye artists I've had the displeasure of working with until now.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by crafoo on Thursday September 20 2018, @09:56PM
The real purpose of these CoCs and the diversity-officers that come along with them is to take power, pure and simple. It's a power grab by caustic, useless, sociopaths.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Thursday September 20 2018, @11:39PM
Thank you for that statement. It gave me pause. Not the statement itself so much, as the moderation that your post got. "Insightful? Isn't that so obvious that EVERYONE knows it?" No, unfortunately, everyone doesn't know it.
I'll give you another "insightful", for helping to point up just how dumb people can be.
(Score: 0, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 20 2018, @10:31PM (6 children)
Time to suck it up and listen to your hero. Took him a long time to realize his behavior was not OK, and now it is time for all of you to re-evaluate your own behaviors and the validation you took from the creator of Linux itself.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Runaway1956 on Thursday September 20 2018, @11:42PM (5 children)
It means shit. IMO, Linux is tired of all the crap that goes with the job. No, there's little reason to re-evaluate my own conduct, because Linus is tired. My own regular introversion is quite sufficient, thank you. My introversive pondering, paired with the evaluation of SJW whining and moaning, and added to the CTRL-LEFT agenda satisfies me that more assholes like myself are needed in this world.
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 21 2018, @04:58AM
Wow, snowflake meltdown!!!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 21 2018, @04:57PM (3 children)
Some real serious identity politics going on in here. How dare someone post something relevant and directly from the main person?? Continue being adsholes, just do not complain if you aren't able to keep a job because people don't like working with you, might need to move out of the "right to work" states.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Friday September 21 2018, @10:25PM (2 children)
It's getting near to fifty years that I've managed to remain gainfully employed. You might keep that in mind, before presuming that people who disagree with you (and your politics) are unemployable.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday September 24 2018, @04:03PM (1 child)
Lawl. I doubt you are actually as big a jerk as linus when you are at work. But go ajead internet tough guy, prove me wrong.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Monday September 24 2018, @04:15PM
Jerkiness, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. Me? I get shit done. Need something destroyed? I can usually do it. Need something built? I can build a lot of stuff. No particle accelerators, no nuclear reactors, but if you need something more mundane, I can probably handle it. I fix stuff, and move stuff. Funny that you mention jerk - have you ever pulled a shotgun tanker? If you say "yes", then I challenge you to pull that same tank with a co-driver sleeping behind you. Smmooooooth! If you can't do it smoothly, your co-driver come out of the bunk wanting to beat on your head with a crowbar.
Have you ever thought about having your eyes examined? Maybe the jerkiness is on your end.
(Score: 2, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 20 2018, @11:06PM (2 children)
He just stopped believing in the project and most software in general. So, he got shit sorted for a few month and when some trivial SJW papers got released, instead of fighting it off like he did in the past, he just let it happen and walked away. He could have threatened to fork. He could have requested a vote. But he didn't. Because he really just didn't care. He was looking for an out and it came.
Congrats Linus. You got out just in time.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 20 2018, @11:17PM
It's like when Paul Rueben got tired of being stuck in a contract to continue making Pee Wee's Playhouse. Quick trip to an adult movie theater and he was then free to enjoy his millions.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 20 2018, @11:35PM