I have to wonder how many people see Linus Torvald's behavior and think what he does is OK. Linus walks a VERY fine line, and his insults and demeaning comments are usually directed at people who "know better."
I have had a few drinks so it's hard to properly articulate what I mean, but maybe somebody else knows what I'm talking about.
I have Harley Hahn's Unix book (2009 edition I think). In it, he describes some of the reasons Linux grew so quickly. One of them is that "Linus has a pleasing personality... in person or online, Linus pretty much gets along with everyone because he is so easygoing. As he once observed in an interview, 'Unlike Richard Stallman, I really don't have a message.'"
This part struck me - as a college student who hasn't been involved in tech culture for that long, all I had heard of Linus is about his brilliance but his harshness and perhaps arrogance.
So, assuming my impression and Hahn's are both accurate - what changed? I think that the stress of life gets to us and we start to cut the pleasantries, tact, and niceties that seem to slow us down. We don't mean to be a jerk, but the fast-paced lives we commit ourselves to don't allow time for us to treat others as respectfully as we can. We're blunt because it is easier on us and we don't care about what it does to others.
So, assuming my impression and Hahn's are both accurate - what changed?
Nothing. The only difference is if you're on a mailing list that Linus frequents, or if you're only reading a single post from that list bereft of context because someone sent you a link to the point where Linus puts his foot down.
Its like Zed Shaw, he wrote a great introduction to programming book I frequently recommend and even helps random people learn over twitter and email. But post some of his work on HN and you'll find a bunch of people still sore about a single angry rant he wrote a few years ago.
about the last para, there is more than can meet the eye (for example: when said people issue unwarranted physical threats) it's not to diminish the greatness of anyone's work but some (not all) people have genuine complaints beyond a single blog post.
Alternatively, perhaps nothing changed, and the public propaganda about Linus is generated mostly by people who don't interact with him, and flaming about high-level things like driver support is only tangentially related to what it is like to interact with Linus.
You probably need to have a little fear of god put into you by the reputation of someone like Torvalds, if you're going to take up his time. People who are worried about looking stupid will double and triple-check what they do, and that's a good thing.
I think you have to remember that these guys are operating at scale, and until you've walked in those shoes...
No, you're right. While I don't think Linus himself is a bully, he does seem to be one of the reasons that jerkitude is not only tolerated, but respected and aspired to in open source / hacker communities.
I have had a few drinks so it's hard to properly articulate what I mean, but maybe somebody else knows what I'm talking about.