On the one hand, sure, fine. He has raked people for less. However this is just an RC. Further, how long has Linus been doing this?
I remember Maddox on xmission having a page explaining that while he may make a grammatical error from time to time, he has published literally hundreds of thousands of words, and the average email he receives contains 10% errors.
However, Linus is well-known for being abrasive, abusive, call it what you want. If you can't take it, don't foist it, Linus. Even if you've earned the right, IMO.
I'd say if you're doing truly-heroic solo efforts, then you can earn that. (But I can only think of fictional examples.) For team efforts like the Linux kernel, sure, no amount of individual contribution to that project grants you the right to belittle the other contributors.
This idea that if you've done great things, then you've earned the right to treat people poorly, needs to go away. It's toxic and gross, and we should expect and demand better of our heroes (and ourselves).
Fabrice Bellard's work is impressive, but I wouldn't call it heroic. I was thinking more like, the grumpy-guts who ensures the local homeless shelter is adequately stocked with food, clean bedding, and toiletries, day-in and day-out, even in the depths of winter. You're allowed to be vaguely misanthropic in your interpersonal relationships if you're doing something like that, at least in my book.
Again, the only non-fictional people I know who qualify, are actually really nice to people.
I remember Maddox on xmission having a page explaining that while he may make a grammatical error from time to time, he has published literally hundreds of thousands of words, and the average email he receives contains 10% errors.
However, Linus is well-known for being abrasive, abusive, call it what you want. If you can't take it, don't foist it, Linus. Even if you've earned the right, IMO.