I'm not sure you replied to the correct post since it didn't really seem to be about Linus's style.
Anyway, this argument comes up again and again. Regardless of the style in his country and language or origin he is writing in English, in public, for an international audience. One expects a different sort of tone.
I don't think I can agree with that statement :)
I'm part of the target audience and that tone is _exactly_ what I'd expect instead of polite talk that dances around calling out BS for what it is.
The merits or demerits of that tone are another issue. I'm responding to the claim that Linus uses that style because it's the style of the country he comes from. I don't think that argument holds much water.
Saying that you expect a different tone because he is currently writing in English, in public, for an international audience is not the same as saying that his culture of origin in no way influences his communication style.
That's like saying because my mother is now an American citizen, she should obviously no longer have a German accent. You may personally feel she has some obligation to do her best to lose the accent, but regardless of the standards you would like to see imposed on other people, most people remain influenced for life by things they grew up with.
Ah, I think I completely misunderstood you. When I read
> From what I gather, some of this is cultural. His country of origin is just generally blunt and direct about things.
I assumed you meant
> His country of origin is just generally blunt and direct about things and that is sufficient justification for his using a rude tone on a public mailing list
and I was also rather confused because this seemed to be a non-sequitur. I thought you had indended to reply to one of the other comments criticising his tone. On rereading it now seems that you were saying that
> His country of origin is just generally blunt and direct about things and this is why his is good at calling out bullshit when he sees it
Sorry for a double misunderstanding. If I hadn't made the first one I wouldn't have made the second one either.
> in English, in public, for an international audience. One expects a different sort of tone.
I agree that this is true, but two points stick out to me:
1. Generally the motive for this convention stems from organizations wanting to sanitize their image.
2. FOSS project communication is overwhelmingly pubic.
If we accept that all organizations need some amount of blunt communication at some point, and if we accept that public bluntness has so far not had a measurable negative perception impact for Linux, then it seems inevitable that the project will be an exception to expectations.
Anyway, this argument comes up again and again. Regardless of the style in his country and language or origin he is writing in English, in public, for an international audience. One expects a different sort of tone.