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Doesn't that go both ways? If we're "really engineers", we don't need to use hyperbole to communicate simple ideas like "this isn't on time, nor is it up to the right quality standards, and I'm tired of having to say this so often". In practice, how we communicate with each other matters, even in fields like engineering. That doesn't mean perfect objectivity all the time (that's not how anyone speaks to each other), but it does mean taking the time to understand how our words are going to be received by the person we're talking to. Think of it this way: if I wanted to ask you to go to the shop, but instead of saying "shop", I kept on using a gibberish word instead, we'd say that was bad communication. I know you won't understand the gibberish word, so you won't understand what I'm trying to say to you. The same is true of tone. Tone is part of communication, so when I use a tone of voice that is too aggressive, or too polite and careful, then you can't understand what I'm actually trying to say. Finding the right tone is necessary for good communication. What that tone is will depend on who I'm talking to - with my friends I'll use one tone and with strangers another; with British people I'll phrase things one way, with Germans in a different way. Fwiw, I understand the communication style on the a Linux mailing list to generally be fairly combative, so if that's the culture Linus has built up, then fair enough if he chooses to communicate that way. Although the danger there of course is that if you only communicate like that and someone new appears who is not used to that culture, then there are going to be translation difficulties that may put newcomers off. |