Sharp: Closing a door [LWN.net]

Sharp: Closing a door

Posted Oct 5, 2015 18:34 UTC (Mon) by jmichels (guest, #98352)
Parent article: Sharp: Closing a door

Personally, I like the Linux kernel team's bluntness. I am sorry it does not appeal to some people. I respect their right to feel the way they do. I hope they respect my right to feel the way I do.

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Sharp: Closing a door

Posted Oct 5, 2015 21:17 UTC (Mon) by petkan (subscriber, #54713) [Link] (7 responses)

The Internet is not for sissies. I would just s/Internet/Kernel/ ;)

Sharp: Closing a door

Posted Oct 5, 2015 21:41 UTC (Mon) by nix (subscriber, #2304) [Link] (4 responses)

Ah. If you're not someone who likes being insulted, you should sod off and leave one of the largest communication networks ever built to the jerks? Really?

That's quite an arrogant attitude.

Sharp: Closing a door

Posted Oct 6, 2015 10:34 UTC (Tue) by petkan (subscriber, #54713) [Link] (3 responses)

The Internet and the Linux kernel are both made by humans. The result is far from perfect, but that's the reality.

I do like the way the kernel community work. I am submitting patches and maintaining drivers for seventeen years now and one of the reasons why i am still doing it is that i can speak my mind at the LKML. In my universe code quality is supreme to "bad" language. "Bad" is _always_ a matter of personal perspective. Or a cultural thing. Not all of us live in the USA and share the view of "political correctness". More often i see the latter as pure and utter hypocrisy. I don't like it when somebody tries to shove "better" rules down my throat. "Better" is also a matter of perspective. ;)

The Linux kernel community is built by volunteers. This community has it's own peculiarities. You either accept these or try to change them to your liking. Sarah's attempt to change those failed. Now she's leaving. I say this is the natural course of things. No drama.

Sharp: Closing a door

Posted Oct 6, 2015 20:27 UTC (Tue) by dlang (guest, #313) [Link] (2 responses)

> "Better" is also a matter of perspective. ;)

insults are not always obvious in the word choice either.

see what "bless your heart" can mean when voiced by a southern gentlewoman.

Personally, I much prefer the open and frank discussions of LKML to the politely voiced backbiting I've seen in other places (including inside companies). In my opinion, the LKML approach is far less damaging in the long run.

And yes, I have been on the receiving end of Linus snapping.

Sharp: Closing a door

Posted Oct 7, 2015 14:23 UTC (Wed) by NAR (subscriber, #1313) [Link] (1 responses)

I propose a simple test: if one would dare to say the same comment to an angry Mike Tyson face to face, then it's appropriate to use it in a mailing list. Otherwise it's not.

Sharp: Closing a door

Posted Oct 7, 2015 18:40 UTC (Wed) by tzafrir (subscriber, #11501) [Link]

Not a good test: In that case I suppose I would not dare rejecting his patch at all.

Sharp: Closing a door

Posted Oct 6, 2015 13:02 UTC (Tue) by lkundrak (subscriber, #43452) [Link]

So what do we sissies do with our code?

Sharp: Closing a door

Posted Oct 7, 2015 15:26 UTC (Wed) by jubal (subscriber, #67202) [Link]

A few questions:

• What do you mean by saying “internet is not for sissies”?
• What does “sissy” mean?
• Why did you use this particular word?
• Why do you think internet should not be used by people who you'd call “sissies”?

Thanks in advance.

Sharp: Closing a door

Posted Oct 5, 2015 21:48 UTC (Mon) by josh (subscriber, #17465) [Link] (1 responses)

You can be direct without making personal attacks, and you can require people to defend their code without making them feel unwelcome.

And you can feel however you like; your actions based on those feelings, however, may not be welcome in communities that wish to create a better environment for everyone involved.

Sharp: Closing a door

Posted Oct 6, 2015 2:50 UTC (Tue) by shmget (guest, #58347) [Link]

" may not be welcome in communities that wish to create a better environment for everyone involved."

the 'for everyone involved' meme is getting old...
it is obviously _not_ better for _everyone_ involved.

Sharp: Closing a door

Posted Oct 6, 2015 1:14 UTC (Tue) by ssmith32 (subscriber, #72404) [Link] (2 responses)

If by bluntness you mean pointless profanity and rants that do not add any clarity to a technical discussion, you have an odd definition of honest analysis.

Sharp: Closing a door

Posted Oct 6, 2015 17:09 UTC (Tue) by jmichels (guest, #98352) [Link] (1 responses)

If by honest analyst you mean enforcing your opinion about how another person and I choose to communicate with each other, you have an odd definition of diversity.

Sharp: Closing a door

Posted Oct 15, 2015 9:19 UTC (Thu) by dakas (guest, #88146) [Link]

You don't communicate "with each other". That would be private Email. You debate on a globally accessible public discussion forum.