Mauro's response shows incredible restraint. I commend him for that.
Linus could have easily written that email privately to Mauro and spared him the public shaming. He could have then written a stern yet civil public response. Would that be asking too much?
It doesn't matter who you are; basic human decency is not above you.
I've never worked at Microsoft, but I'm pretty sure Bill Gates and Steve Jobs sent messages like that to working groups, and even department lists. I have no idea whether it's right or wrong, but I don't think this kind of thing is atypical for big tech projects.
Linux just happens to be open source, so when it happens in Linux you hear about it.
All this argument seems to do is solidify the idea that engineers would be well served to work on their ability to interact with others. It doesn't make screaming and swearing at your peers okay because Bill Gates or Steve Jobs does it, as much as everyone would like to think so.
The kernel mailing list is by desision public, and Linus's email was part of an already public thread. We can dissagree with what he wrote, but I do not think he had a good option of writing it in private.
Linus could have easily written that email privately to Mauro and spared him the public shaming. He could have then written a stern yet civil public response. Would that be asking too much?
It doesn't matter who you are; basic human decency is not above you.