Submitted 4 weeks ago by Confidant6198@lemmy.ml to technology@beehaw.org
cross-posted from: lemmy.ml/post/34037081
That video was literally posted 10 years ago, it’s been known for a long time that he’s a jerk.
Doesn’t change anything, we let really smart or really rich or really famous people get away with that shit anyways.
we let really smart or really rich or really famous people get away with that shit anyways.
This. I think people overlook his behavior because despite the fact he was an unrelenting asshole, he also did (and continues to do) a lot of good for the world. He supposedly has also made an attempt to address it via anger management classes, though I’m not up to date on how that went.
Of course, why rich and famous people get away with it is another story, but their supporters ignore the terrible behavior for similar reasons.
And he’s at least attempting to improve, more than we can say for those who use their abilities to exploit others. arstechnica.com/…/linus-torvalds-apologizes-for-y…
What’s he getting away with, exactly? The value that we get from him dwarfs whatever you think he’s getting out of us.
Yes, and so is Gates. Jobs too. Linus didn’t use it to milk his users though.
Key takeaways:
This is known. There are many jerks in the world.
But at the end of a the day, a jerk with good principles is better than the nicest person with none.
That’s the nicest thing anyone ever said to me.
Believing that basic human decency must be earned on the based on intellectual achievements is “good principle”?
Saying “respect must be earned” but giving disrespect freely and abundantly is good principle?
This argument is just a cult of intellect even to the detriment of society.
I think it’s pretty likely that without some “good principles” Torvalds would not have been able to admit his faults and begin working on them.
I think getting upset about how he used to behave isn’t very helpful, once he’s acknowledged and apologized.
Honesty is such an odd practice that some people hate it.
Honesty and hostility are not the same. You can call code bad without cursing someone out or belittling their existence.
Linus himself admitted years ago to being a hostile jerk, and realized it had a negative impact on his life and projects. He took time to improve upon this. See my other comment for some sources.
Kill your heroes 😉
If you had to wade through all the arguments in the Linux kernal “discussions” you’d be a jerk too.
knokelmaat@beehaw.org 4 weeks ago
This is quite an old video, and lately he’s been working on his communication issues. He fully admits that he’s been a dick many times. This all escalated a couple of years ago where he even took a few months off and focussed solely on getting this fixed and getting help I believe.
Not to say he’s perfect now, but I don’t think we’ll ever get this sort of catharsis from Elon, Trump, Bezos…