If you’ve had some pain fixing a Windows issue, I’m sure you’ve heard of the word “Linux” from one of the other “geeks” that visit around forums, helping
people out. Linus Trovalds was the person who started the Linux operating system project and owns the copyright to the name, “Linux”. Recently when discussing a security issue in the Linux kernel, Linus did some disrespectful “name-calling” in a public readable mailing list.
The following is an excerpt from the mail:
Security people are often the black-and-white kind of people that I can't stand. I think the OpenBSD crowd is a bunch of masturbating monkeys, in that they make such a big deal about concentrating on security to the point where they pretty much admit that nothing else matters to them.
Linus is known to be a little outspoken and as a person who can be little rude at times, but when you treat other competitive developers with so much disrespect, it obviously means there is something wrong with him or his team. Linus invented the Linux OS, but today there are lots of other developers who are working hard towards improving Linux. The other developers do all the hardwork these days and Linus just supervises and controls which patches are to be applied to the kernel and what direction the Linux kernel should follow.
Look at the backdrop of events happening at Linux and OpenBSD, you’ll realize why Linus is a little upset with OpenBSD/BSD in general. The last release of FreeBSD v7.0, which is based on OpenBSD’s trunk4 and is a spectacular release with performance better than Linux on most grounds. Also, a lot of other Linux developers are in constant debate with Linus on what direction Linux should take. Someday its about the schedular or one day its about the security. There is some unrest in the Linux community, which feels the desktop neglect in terms of efforts in the kernel.
You can read his insane reply here and the whole discussion here.
But whatever the problem, such harsh words are completely unacceptable from the leader of such a big community of developers and users. Linus definitely needs some spiritual counselling to heal his internal turmoil.
4 comments:
"The last release of FreeBSD v7.0, which is based on OpenBSD’s trunk4 and is a spectacular release with performance better than Linux on most grounds."
What? I suspect this refers to FreeBSD adopting OpenBSD trunk(4) link aggregation interface, called lagg(4) in FreeBSD. This is driver-level (if you want to call it a driver...) cross-pollination between BSDs, as usual. It's certainly not a new foundation of FreeBSD, just a small part of the system - these things occur at many levels between BSDs, thanks to the suitable licenses and relatively compatible code base.
If you want to find more significant code contributions from OpenBSD to FreeBSD, look at pf(4) packet filter and carp(4) which allows building high availability firewalls.
linus : STFU you stupid arrogance bastard!
Linus is a real egoistic jerk... This proves it one more time. This goes to show that Linux still sucks, eventhough a geek may say it rocks!!
I disagree with the author on one point. While all the nasty talk is unacceptable, OpenBSD guys have it coming. I'm a big fan of their work, but they are all selfish assholes. None of them hesitate to flame the hell out of anyone they don't like and Theo de Raadt will treat anyone who disagrees with his views like an utter moron. This means most of the industry. So, after seeing Theo pull this same stunt so many times, it's hard for me to fault Linus for taking a stab at them.
Anyone calling Linus unprofessional or a poor leader should apply the same measure to OpenBSD. The author neglected to mention OpenBSD or Theo's behavior and aggressive remarks that prompt Linus's attitude, making this article unbalanced. Personally, I'd like to see them all cut the crap, but until then let's give credit or criticism to each where its due. Not just one guy...
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