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by lazide 1164 days ago
It is entirely possible to be direct without being an asshole.

Being indirect, Socratic questioning, etc. has its place too. But it can easily just result in someone being a passive aggressive asshole instead of a direct one, or, as others noted in the thread, being confusing and a drag on everyone because they won’t actually say what they think.
1 comments
tomnipotent 1164 days ago
> to be direct without being an asshole

You don't have any control over how people perceive things, which is the point. Everyone is an asshole to someone.

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lazide 1164 days ago
That’s the ‘no one is an asshole, everyone is an asshole’ type of BS that muddies the waters.

Linus has been an asshole, he didn’t have to be, and everyone agreed on that, including him.

He’s getting better at being less of an asshole.

That is what I’m referring to. It isn’t ambiguous. It isn’t ‘a bad day’. It isn’t one person getting offended about something that no one else saw. Pretending it is does no one any favors.

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