Happy 24th birthday Linux!
When Linus Torvalds created Linux he didn't know it would become so popular. He was quite modest about it back then (read in his first email announcing Linux below). And he is still just as modest, approachable, and friendly.
Yes, he does use colorful language on the mailing list from time to time, but we need to understand that he manages more than 1,500 people spread across the world. His software powers everything and it’s trusted by giant businesses. He is the final authority on Linux and there is no scope for error. So whenever a senior developer makes any such error Linus goes colorful.
One point worth noting is that Linus reserves this kind of language only for 'senior' developers. I have never heard him using strong words for newbies. Unlike managers in the corporate world, he can't fire people, cut their bonus or punish them in any other way that you would see in a corporate culture. His only power is to use strong words.
I believe his work has a stronger and much deeper impact on human society than the software created by either Steve Jobs or Bill Gates. Torvalds is building the modern IT world by breeding a new culture where knowledge is not kept locked behind fortified walls, but is shared openly with the rest of the civilization to learn and build upon.
Here is the message Linus wrote exactly 24 years ago:
Happy birthday Linux!