[perfTerm]

So he might expect Linus to listen to his opinions on the end user experience, but maybe not to his opinions on how it should be implemented technically? Would that be fair.

I'm pretty sure giving people the time of day is an admirable trait and can teach you many things regardless of their expertise. It's after the fact that you disregard the cruft.

It's like the Republican debates for me, I can't seem to find any common ground with these candidates but then I find a few nuggets that I do like (such as Jeb Bush's funding of crisis birth centers and increasing the adoption rates in Florida through better funding and education for adoption centers. Even if I'm pro choice I think those are good ideas). Of course, the Republican debates are two to three hours long so it's very thankful they're not very often and you need to find the balance so that you're not just wasting your time.

I think it's fair to say that there is no black and white answer to this issue and you really have to go on a case by case basis to maximise your use of the information contained in the people around you.