There are two sides to any communication, and when an attempt fails to convey the intended signal, in almost all cases <i>both</i> parties share the blame. One can argue about degree, but that&#x27;s rarely productive.<p>I think in most cases like these, where people are offended by criticism, the problem is primarily a mismatch of social expectations, rather than either party being obnoxious or thin-skinned.<p>That said, in this case I tend to agree that ESR is doing an fairly good job at presenting his criticism in a constructive way, and it&#x27;s certainly not too aggressive for Torvalds of all people.