[lo_zamoyski]

> Linus was a pioneer

Being a Young Pioneer or joining the Komsomol was not officially mandatory, but it functioned as a gatekeeper for any kind of advancement. Party membership operated the same way.

So, by themselves, they don't tell you whether the person in question is a communist.

[rauli_]

Not in Finland which has never been a communist country. His parents were just political activists who forced young Linus to participate in that as well. Linus has said that the experience made him very apolitical person.

[lo_zamoyski]

Ah, whoops! I mistook Linus as the name of the Russian developer in question, whose name is actually Denis.

(The whole first name thing in software circles kind of irritates me.)

[ChrisMarshallNY]

Well, my use of his first name was kind of a joke. I apologize for the confusion.

There's very few folks in software that can be recognized uniquely, by their first name, but he's one.