On Wed, Oct 7, 2015 at 10:52 PM, Daniel and Elizabeth Case dancase@frontiernet.net wrote:
Collaborating on software (or
encyclopedias) is a social process, and basic civility goes a long way towards lubricating social processes. >I also don't buy Linus's argument that being professional is being fake. No one is asking Linus to wear a suit and tie and use marketing >buzzwords. They're just asking him to chill out and not be an asshole. Of course he's welcome to act out his "normal urges", as he puts >it, but I don't think he's doing any favors for the cultural health of the free software movement.
I really wonder if we’re looking at this backward. It almost sounds from your interpretation that Linus (whom in fairness I have never met or interacted with, not least because I’m not a Linux groupie, so I can’t speak to the truth of this) seems to have founded an open-source software community as a place for people, uh, “on spectrum” to hang out online and work together on something in their preferred way, rather than had the idea for Linux and then, well, all these people just happened to gravitate to it.
"Abusing people they have power over" isn't a behavior that's linked in any way to being on the autism spectrum, and I've not seen any mention that Linus self-identifies as being on the spectrum, so let's please refrain from Diagnosing People Via The Internet :) There's a great Geek Feminism Wiki on this particular argument: http://geekfeminism.wikia.com/wiki/Autism_is_to_blame
What Linus has stated publicly, however, tells the story:
"I am a lazy person, which is why I like open source, for other people to do work for me [...] I like to sit on the beach with a floofy drink and let you guys do all the work... I’m coasting, right now I’m coasting—I don’t have any projects I’m working on."
from http://arstechnica.com/business/2015/01/linus-torvalds-on-why-he-isnt-nice-i...
"I love open source and how all the credit comes to me"
from http://www.eweek.com/enterprise-apps/linus-torvalds-talks-linux-security-at-...
These are the words of someone who's happy to be a jackass to others, giddy with the power he has over them, all the while profiting off their work - not those of someone who's on the spectrum.
-Leigh
