A graph showing how many abusive words such as 'fuck,' 'shit,' and 'stupid' are contained in the Linux source code, and the frequency of 'fuck' has dropped dramatically since 2018
It is known that messages containing strong phrases by Linus Torvalds are flying around the mailing list of the Linux development project, but the Linux source code itself also contains a large amount of phrases such as 'fuck,' 'crap,' and 'idiot.' A web application called ' Linux kernel word count ' that can visualize how much abusive language is contained in the Linux kernel source code has been a hot topic, so I tried using it. Linux kernel word count https://www.vidarholen.net/contents/wordcount/ Torvalds, the creator of Linux, is often known for his radical remarks, and his angry emails are frequently posted to the mailing list of the Linux development project. Recently, in April 2025, he sent a message to the effect that 'shitty code that spreads filth should go away' in response to the submission of 'code that generates unnecessary temporary files.' Linus Torvalds calls Linux 6.15-rc1 test code filthy and gets angry - GIGAZINE by TED Conference Torvalds has also made radical statements in the real world, and in 2012, during a speech in his native Finland, he stuck out his middle finger and said, 'NVIDIA Fuck You!' Linux developer Linus Torvalds gives NVIDIA the middle finger and uses the F-word - GIGAZINE The scene where Torvalds says 'NVIDIA Fuck You!' can be seen at 49:56 in the video below. The audience applauds. Aalto Talk with Linus Torvalds [Full-length] - YouTube Perhaps due to Torvalds's actions, the Linux source code contains many offensive words such as 'fuck'. Below are the results of searching for the word 'fuck' in the Linux kernel source code published on GitHub. You can see that many 'fuck' words are mixed in the comments added to the code. 'Linux kernel word count' is a web app that can visualize how many arbitrary words are contained in the source code of the Linux kernel, and is useful for analyzing 'how many violent words are contained in the Linux source code'. You can access the Linux kernel word count from the following link. Linux kernel word count https://www.vidarholen.net/contents/wordcount/ Linux kernel word count allows you to specify multiple words and find out how many of those words were included in each release. In the initial state, the number of occurrences of 'fuck* (blue)', 'shit* (orange)', 'crap* (green)', 'bastard (red)', and 'penguin (purple)' are graphed. '*' is a wildcard , and in the case of 'fuck*', all words starting with 'fuck', such as 'fuck', 'fucking', and 'fucker', are searched for. Looking at the graph, we can see that the number of occurrences of 'crap*' is quite high, and that the number of occurrences of 'fuck*' has dropped drastically since around 2018. Enter a word of interest in the input field at the top of the screen and click 'Custom' to graph the number of occurrences of that word. If you want to enter multiple words, separate them with ','. You can also enter '*' as a wildcard.If you enter 'fuck*, shit*, damn*, idiot*, crap' and graph the number of occurrences of 'fuck* (blue)', 'shit* (orange)', 'damn* (green)', 'idiot* (red)', and 'crap (purple)', you get something like this. As expected, the decrease in the frequency of 'fuck*' around 2018 is noticeable. The situation of 'source code containing a lot of violent words' has been a problem in the Linux development community, and in 2018 a patch that replaced violent words with 'hug' became a hot topic. Attempt to replace swear words in Linux code with 'hugs' sparks controversy - GIGAZINE In 2018, Torvalds distanced himself from the development community for 36 days, saying he was going to 'study people's feelings.' These patches and Torvalds' 'study' may be related to the decrease in the frequency of 'fuck*.' Linus Torvalds, who left the Linux community to 'learn people's feelings,' returns after a one-month hiatus - GIGAZINE By Linux Foundation In addition, the Linux kernel word count can also be used to explore trends in Linux development projects by entering non-violent words. If you graph the frequency of appearances of 'intel (blue)', 'amd (orange)', and 'nvidia (green)', you can see that the frequency of appearance of 'nvidia' increased sharply from around 2012 and overtook 'intel' around 2018.
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