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by ivraatiems 1933 days ago
No, this is like going to Quentin Tarantino and saying "hey Quentin, here's that work you need for your film, which I did for free," and him screaming at you for not doing your free work exactly how he wanted.

Linus has often been a dick. Being offended at being abused for asking a question or doing a relatively normal thing is reasonable. (He's gotten better, recently, because even he acknowledges it's harmed the project.)
2 comments
inimino 1933 days ago
Nobody is doing free work for Linus. People including Linus are doing work on Linux which everyone is allowed to use for free. And which most people on Earth have benefitted from, directly or indirectly, to at least some extent.

Not getting paid for your work does not automatically entitle you to see your work used, or to ignore the standards put in place by those who would use it.

And yes, if everyone in Hollywood tried to contribute to every Tarantino movie, and showed up and didn't follow instructions, he'd probably yell at some folks too.

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fermienrico 1933 days ago
People still work with him and he is successful. From what I can see (I've never dealt with Linux community), people that work with him know what to ignore and what to listen to.

Moreover, I guess I have a different way to deal with offensive people even if they were serious - to ignore and scoff it off. I would never feel "offended" ever. Offense is taken and it is a choice. That's how I operate but your mileage may vary.

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ben0x539 1933 days ago
> People still work with him

That's part of the problem. A bunch of people effectively didn't have a choice but to put up with this sort of communication style because their job required them to interact with the Linux community.

> Offense is taken and it is a choice.

This is a meaningless platitude. Whether you take offense or not, sometimes the most productive response is to tell someone their behavior is counterproductive, instead of stoically shrugging it off.

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fermienrico 1933 days ago
This is the surefire way to create conflict where there could have been a peaceful resolution. Learning to tolerate and ignore is a blessing IMO. If it gets excessive and affect's people's lives, jobs, personal threats, yes - that's not excusable.

It turns out when you ignore people, they get the point. You don't need to bark back at dogs. Keep your head up, mind your own business and move on.

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ben0x539 1933 days ago
Not acknowledging it when someone's causing problems under the banner of "taking offense is a choice" is definitely a surefire way to make problems worse, too.
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nonotreally 1933 days ago
I agree with this. Just ignore him. Use him for what he's good at.

The guy is good a computers. He's less good a humans. Act accordingly.

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