Linus is a Father Figure Now

About time, right?

I’ve had my fair share of debates about the old Linus. You know, the version of him who’d tear into Linux kernel maintainers with no mercy:

Subject: Re: Regression - /proc/kmsg does not (always) block for 1-byte reads

Kay, this needs to be fixed.

Suggested fix: just use the seq_printf() interfaces, which do the proper buffering, and allow any size reads of various packetized data.

Of course, I’d also suggest that whoever was the genius who thought it was a good idea to read things ONE F*CKING BYTE AT A TIME with system calls for each byte should be retroactively aborted. Who the f*ck does idiotic things like that? How did they noty [sic] die as babies, considering that they were likely too stupid to find a tit to suck on?

Linus

The lightning-speed escalation is impressive, I’ll give him that! And of course we picked a tame rant here; Linus has told maintainers to their face, by name, to commit suicide and so on. F*cked up stuff.

Plenty of folks–especially in the low-level programming world–still defend this communication strategy (should we call it that at all?) But thankfully, Linus himself doesn’t anymore. Fast forward a few years and we all know he’s a changed man. He worked on himself, and while the result is still… let’s say, direct:

Subject: Re: Rust kernel policy

So let me be very clear: if you as a maintainer feel that you control who or what can use your code, YOU ARE WRONG.

I respect you technically, and I like working with you.

And no, I am not looking for yes-men, and I like it when you call me out on my bullshit. I say some stupid things at times, there needs to be people who just stand up to me and tell me I’m full of shit.

But now I’m calling you out on YOURS.

…it’s a far cry from the old days. And honestly I think his sharp commentary, when used constructively, is just perfect:

Subject: Re: Rust kernel policy

Ask yourself: how many problems has rust caused you in the last year? I’m claiming that the main problem has been people who have been forthing [sic] at the mouth, not the actual rust support.

So next time you want to write an email to complain about rust support: take a look in the mirror.

Is the problem actually the rust code causing you issue, or is the problem between the keyboard and the chair, and you just want to vent?

(Note: I’m not a Rustacean but even I can sympathize with the message.)

These days, I find myself arguing with a different crowd: those who STILL think Linus is some irredeemable asshole. Couldn’t disagree more. He’s finally become the industry father figure I always hoped he’d be.

When I say “father figure,” I’m thinking of Alain de Botton’s TED talk (unironically):

It’s rare to see a software leader balance being tough and gentle. Gentle doesn’t mean avoiding harsh criticism when it’s called for–it’s about knowing when and how to use it. That’s a tricky skill, and not everyone can get it right. If grumpy old Linus can figure it out, there’s hope for the rest of us.

Here’s to more of that.

-Abner