After Years of Abusive E-mails, the Creator of Linux Steps Aside (The New Yorker)

A story in The New Yorker magazine may help explain some of the timing of the recent upheavals in kernel-land. Longtime followers of kernel development will find the article to be a mixed bag-over the top in spots, fairly accurate elsewhere. "Torvalds's decision to step aside came after The New Yorker asked him a series of questions about his conduct for a story on complaints about his abusive behavior discouraging women from working as Linux-kernel programmers. In a response to The New Yorker, Torvalds said, 'I am very proud of the Linux code that I invented and the impact it has had on the world. I am not, however, always proud of my inability to communicate well with others-this is a lifelong struggle for me. To anyone whose feelings I have hurt, I am deeply sorry.'"