I agree with how he's saying it. He's being honest. He's letting you know where he stands and what the rule is, without any kind of hidden message or room for interpretation. The other guy? Not being so honest.
Acting out is actually dishonest and it's mostly about a hidden message. It's a failure to recognize and deal with your won frustrations which you then take out on others, usually when an opportunity presents itself to rationalize your behavior - someone does something you perceive as wrong, so they become a justifiable target for the anger that's already there. What I read in the email's message is, 'I'm out of control, I'm not able or willing to mange my emotions, so you better watch out'. That is a poor management and communication technique.
IMHO, a leader or manager should hold their leadership and management work product to the same standard that they hold their subordinates' technical work product. If they want the highest standards for the kernel code, they need to have the highest standards for their communication and other conduct.
A great challenge of being the boss is that there is nobody to hold you to high standards; you have to do it yourself and that's not something people are good at. As they say: Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Clearly, this message could have been communicated much more effectively - while being truly honest and without hidden messages or room for interpretation - if the communicator chose to make an effort.
Finally, if this form of communication is effective, do others communicate to Linus in this manner? Does he ask them to?
- Speaks in platitudes about the topic in a way that shows a thin understanding of the context and only sounds smart to people that also aren't familiar with the context.
- Armchair psychiatry used to advance a moralizing message.
- All over the place while deep in a comment thread, seemingly more interested in hearing themselves talk than carrying on the conversation.
I considered those things myself before I posted it. However, I didn't see how to overcome them; some issues don't lend themselves to strong factual bases, and some are much more nuanced than can be addressed in a few words - issues such as leadership - and yet they still are important enough to discuss. The problems of the world don't always conveniently fit our model of how we prefer to address them. How else could these issues be addressed?
> It's a cliche hacker news comment
This I strongly disagree with; these issues are rarely addressed with much serious thought and that's one reason I posted it.