An interesting contrast from the Torvalds approach. I seriously think this is a huge part of why John Carmack is so popular. He's always kind to people, and very keen on sharing useful information.
Or are you just referring to his communication when defending his own codebase?
Linus Torvalds can be plenty kind when he wants to be. And John Carmack has also done his time being a jerk.
What people are saying is that the kind approach is their preferred default.
Citation Please.