Re: [Ksummit-2013-discuss] [ATTEND] How to act on LKML (was: [ 00/19] 3.10.1-stable review)

Linus Torvalds
2013-07-17T04:48:40Z

On Tue, Jul 16, 2013 at 8:16 PM, Ben Hutchings <ben@decadent.org.uk> wrote:
> On Tue, 2013-07-16 at 20:02 -0700, Linus Torvalds wrote:
>>
>> Umm. Notice how the "Joseph" I replied to had deleted all the comments he wrote?
>
> Sorry, that completely escaped me.
>
>> That should tell you something. I smacked down a troll.
>>
>> If I was polite to you all those years ago, and I was polite but firm
>> in the two first responses, please give me credit for when I smack
>> somebody down. There may be a reason for it. The fact that the person
>> deleted his messages (or github deleted them for him - I have no idea
>> what their comment policy is) and you cannot see that context any more
>> online should not make you think that I suddenly went crazy.
>
> Unfortunately, it seems I'm not the only one to be confused by this.

Heh.

I think this one is a pretty extreme example (because the context
simply is no longer *there*), but the fact is, it's not uncommon.

People think I get all the credit (and hey, I do), but here's a
somewhat darker side to the story too. I get a lot of grief too, and
usually from people who don't have the context. In the blog you
posted, it was because the context simply wasn't there any more, but
let's be honest: even when the context is there, how many people read
it? It's a cesspool out there (*cough*slashdot*cough*).

And hey, I think Sarah's outburst itself was due to a similar "I know
Linus curses at people, and who cares about context, it's never
acceptable". Because I guarantee that it was *not* because of the
actual email she replied to, or anything I've written her. Feel free
to go back and check.

I'm really not complaining. It's part of my job, and I'm quite used to
it. This is not new. Certain people and places love to hate on Linus,
the egotistical ass. And hey, on the whole I can honestly say that I'm
*way* ahead. They aren't exactly wrong - it's not like I have a weak
ego. I get most annoyed when people say it's "new" and due to the
success of Linux. Dammit, I had a strong ego when I started this whole
thing, so don't try to chalk it all up to success.

Guys, I love my job. The kernel developer community is great. But I
suspect that some of you don't necessarily think about the other side.
I had slashdot discussing my abusive relationship with my wife and
kids thanks to Sarah's comments. Talk about having a thick skin -
trust me when I tell you that I get as well as I give out.

Linus