I disagree. There are many issues where the "technical" argument is not at all clear. Ever heard of "4 generation languages" or "3-tier client/server"? Well, there was a time when most people thought there was a clear "technical" argument in favor of these technologies, while some (a minority) disagreed. Who was right? The minority who, by the way, was often unable to explain why exaclty they did not like these technologies. They just had a bad gut feeling.
Linus is someone with a proven track record of correct gut feelings. We should respect that. If Linus says "No" maybe just 3 times, we should accept his decision. Yes it is "arbitrary" but it is the way things work. Having a strong and opinionated leader is the only way to keep a technological project from going overboard with science-fiction crap. Look at NASA. While Von Brown was alive, things worked because he was, like Linus, quite conservative in his technical choices. When he left, people went overboard with the fucking space-shuttle and we know how it ended. It killed more astrnoauts than all other launchers put together. Is this the way you want the Linux Kernel to go ?
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Linus is someone with a proven track record of correct gut feelings. We should respect that. If Linus says "No" maybe just 3 times, we should accept his decision. Yes it is "arbitrary" but it is the way things work. Having a strong and opinionated leader is the only way to keep a technological project from going overboard with science-fiction crap. Look at NASA. While Von Brown was alive, things worked because he was, like Linus, quite conservative in his technical choices. When he left, people went overboard with the fucking space-shuttle and we know how it ended. It killed more astrnoauts than all other launchers put together. Is this the way you want the Linux Kernel to go ?