Linux Namesake Argues In Favor Of Being A Jerk

[Canadamus Prime]

So the guy's a douche and get's away with being a douche because he's famous. Joy. ¬__¬

That, and he's basically advocating being a douche by decreeing it behind some false credo of "I'm just being honest instead of hiding behind false politeness".

Even worse, a LOT of people, even in this thread, are behind the guy 100%.

Listen people: There's a HUGE difference between being honest and direct, and being a rude, cantankerous prick.

From the sounds of things, this guy is the latter.

Precisely. One can still be honest and still be civil. The kind of behaviour he's advocating is still unacceptable and if he wasn't so famous he's never be able to get away with it. You don't act like a douche in the workplace for the same reason you don't take off all your cloths and start swinging from the chandeliers in a fancy restaurant. It's called proper social etiquette.

 

[Smooth Operator]

Well the man is half right, the gossip brigade really is just as toxic to a work environment as the shouting donkeys, but none of those is a proper way to conduct yourself.

It simply goes by "we don't shit where we make bread", people came into work to share their professional expertise and not to be your punching bag, yes we all need to vent sometimes but your co-workers aren't hired to handle your personal shit, sort that out in the appropriate venue.

 

[Nuxxy]

While I will agree that faux-politeness and office politics work against a 'good' work environment, I would also add that Rule #0 ("Don't be a dick!") still applies, to all aspects of life.

 

[ciasteczkowyp]

While being honest might prove beneficial in day to day relations, it will tarnish his reputation and new people will be prejudiced towards him.

 

[iniudan]

Well the man is half right, the gossip brigade really is just as toxic to a work environment as the shouting donkeys, but none of those is a proper way to conduct yourself.

It simply goes by "we don't shit where we make bread", people came into work to share their professional expertise and not to be your punching bag, yes we all need to vent sometimes but your co-workers aren't hired to handle your personal shit, sort that out in the appropriate venue.

Thus why the Torvald took it to email after a certain point, but the person who was complaining about his attitude decided to keep it public, which person had first earned his scorn by committing unstable kernel patch that was obviously broken, has the damn thing was not even compiling, in other word it was not even tested, even a student in computer science shouldn't make that kind of mistake.

Basically she the one who first started been unprofessional, because she couldn't be bothered to even remotely do her job correctly for that patch, then she got called and cursed at for it.

 

[tgr]

Ah, Linus "Management by Perkele" Torvalds is at it again. Reminded me of his attempt at making friends with Nvidia: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVpOyKCNZYw

 

[iniudan]

Ah, Linus "Management by Perkele" Torvalds is at it again. Reminded me of his attempt at making friends with Nvidia: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVpOyKCNZYw

And in someway, it worked (but high chance to also be due to Gabe, pushing nvidia to develop better Linux driver), has the thing Torvalds gave the middle finger to nvidia for, now has official driver, even if they still are not optimal in term of power management, which is kind of the main point of Optimus.

 

[geizr]

--snip--

So basically you're accusing him of being an internet tough guy? Just because he has an opinion that differs from yours? Ooooh, who's the big crybaby now?

Yes, I am accusing him of that, but not because he has a different opinion from mine. Social etiquette is very well established ethic. You simply don't treat other human beings with such a level of personal disrespect, especially not in professional interactions. In just about every circle, anyone who does that is considered an asshole.

And just before you say anything about professionalism, being professional is not the same as conforming to a specific corporate culture. Professionalism is a matter of COURTESY, integrity, responsibility, and self-accountability. Corporate culture, however, is just whatever the boss says it is. Yes, corporate culture is often stifling and demoralizing because of the politics involved, but professionalism has more to do with one's own conduct toward others and approach to getting the job done, not the politics of surviving corporate environments. One can be professional without sinking into the typical morass of corrupted corporate culture. If anything, I would say that Linus is actually creating a corporate culture of fear, intimidation, and bullying within his own development team.

No, he's just in the wrong and making excuses to be an asshole. Period.

EDIT: Added the contrast of corporate culture.

 

[Arnoxthe1]

People don't act fake nice because they want work to go smoother, they do it because they might lose their job.

This. Bosses can be just... well, you know.

 

[Grabehn]

Just one doubt here, the text says "I'm gonna say shit like it is, whether people like it or not and I expect the same from others" I'm one of those that says things the way they are, no matter where I am or who I'm with, with no "white lies" or "putting things nicely", A lot of people like me for that (for some reason) and others don't, funny enough most people that don't, often have double standards (*hipocrits* in case the term is not used the same way in english). Although going around insulting people for the sake of it is a whole different thing, and THAT is not needed nor should be accepted in any way, since it doesn't benefit anything.

But I just don't see where in the things Linus said it says "being a jerk is good for business", being a jerk is being a jerk, just that. I might've read something erroneously, though.

 

[iniudan]

--snip--

So basically you're accusing him of being an internet tough guy? Just because he has an opinion that differs from yours? Ooooh, who's the big crybaby now?

Yes, I am accusing him of that, but not because he has a different opinion from mine. Social etiquette is very well established ethic. You simply don't treat other human beings with such a level of personal disrespect, especially not in professional interactions. In just about every circle, anyone who does that is considered an asshole.

And just before you say anything about professionalism, being professional is not the same as conforming to specific corporate culture. Professionalism is a matter of COURTESY, integrity, responsibility, and self-accountability.

No, he's just in the wrong and making excuses to be an asshole. Period.

And the person toward who he had no courtesy, had a complete lack of integrity, responsibility and self-accountability, has she submitted a broken untested kernel patch, tend dared take offense by been called and cursed for it.

 

[Grabehn]

*damn double post*

 

[Strazdas]

and the escapists reacted the way i expected based on discussion on the topic in Religion and politics board.

ADDENDUM: Some of you praising Linus, if any one of you actually found yourselves in a real personal situation in which this was how people treated each other, I guarantee most of you would either leave or find yourselves coming to fisticuffs with the person. Would you really want to be in an environment in real-life in which people treated each other the same way as folks treat each other on the Internet and in online games? Think for a moment how that would turn out.

as opposed to what we have now? yeah ill take internet.

 

[Julius Ketonen]

Management by Perkele. Simply how Finnish leadership works.

 

[Steven Bogos]

This is why I like 4chan over reddit most of the time. In reddit, people are so scared about losing precious "upvotes" that everyone just goes around kissing ass and no-one calls people out on their bullshit.

In 4chan, if your opinion is shit, or wrong, you better fucking believe people will give you fifty reasons why you are an idiot. Sure, it's a lot more toxic and if you don't have as thick skin as some people, it may be a bit abrasive, but i believe the 4chan boards are a lot more honest and interesting than all the sucking up and popular topic spam (CARL SAGAN ATHEISM ZELDA) that goes on at reddit.

 

[shirkbot]

and the escapists reacted the way i expected based on discussion on the topic in Religion and politics board.

ADDENDUM: Some of you praising Linus, if any one of you actually found yourselves in a real personal situation in which this was how people treated each other, I guarantee most of you would either leave or find yourselves coming to fisticuffs with the person. Would you really want to be in an environment in real-life in which people treated each other the same way as folks treat each other on the Internet and in online games? Think for a moment how that would turn out.

as oppsoed to what we have now? yeah ill take internet.

then again, geizr is here, so beware, he will use his illogical comments and repetition to beat you into submission.

Possibly, but there's an argument between geizr and SushiJaguar a little up the page where g actually makes some good points.

OT: The Addendum is pretty spot on. I worked in a group like this once and the group split in half after a particularly nasty incident where people ended up in tears. The fact is that, as is has already been pointed out repeatedly, being professional and being open/honest are not mutually exclusive concepts. It is entirely honest to be honest and professional because professionalism basically boils down to knowing how to interact with people to get things done without regard for your personal relationship.

 

[Ickorus]

I'm not quite sure I understand why a lack of professionalism should equal being ass-hats to one another, why not just be polite?