I enjoy that when the intelligence and brashness has a point other than stroking its own ego. Linus for example, is an example of the positive (imo) face of what you’re talking about, because it’s not about something petty from nearly 30 years ago and his desire to be in some kind of control. You know that even when he’s harsh and outspoken, odds are he’s making a really good and relevant point.
I’m not seeing that here, just a lot of heat and no light.
Really? To be honest, Linus also comes across as an egomaniac. Sometimes, he says what must be said. Mostly, he's just extremely abusive. The problem with BDFL positions is it removes the sort of checks and bounds that people need, to stop them growing into assholes.
The advantage is, for better or worse, they tend to have the kind of vision and consistency that allows a project to thrive.
I think it'd be nice if they had a HR department they had to answer to, or something like that.
I don't think Torvalds grew into anything; the Tanenbaum–Torvalds debate from '92 already had quotes like:
your job is being a professor and researcher: That's one hell of a
good excuse for some of the brain-damages of minix. I can only hope (and
assume) that Amoeba doesn't suck like minix does.
I’m not seeing that here, just a lot of heat and no light.