Linux creator Linus Torvalds has made an uncharacteristic admission that he needs to change the way he interacts with people on the Linux kernel mailing list and says he will take some time off and get assistance "on how to understand people’s emotions and respond appropriately".

A Linux developer who works for the biggest open source vendor Red Hat has questioned why security holes in older Linux kernels — those that are listed as having long-term support — are being quietly patched by senior kernel maintainer Greg Kroah-Hartman, who is more or less deputy to Linux creator Linus Torvalds, without issuing the standard CVE advisories.

Veteran open source advocate Bruce Perens has been awarded almost US$260,000 (A$343,343) in solicitors' fees and US$2403 as costs by San Francisco Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler over a defamation claim against him that went nowhere.