Comment by cryptonector

I answered this here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30504804

It's a rhetorical device. I didn't expect this to -years later- become a front-page item on HN. I wrote that to share with certain people.

And yes, clone() has some real problems, and if calling it "stupid" pisses off some people, but maybe also leads others to want to improve clone() or create a better alternative, then that's fine. If I'd wanted to write an alternative to Linux I'd probably have had to deal with the very, very fine language that Linus and others use on the Linux kernel mailing lists -- if you don't like my using the word "stupid", then you really shouldn't look there because you're likely to be very disappointed. Indeed, not only would I have to accept colorful language from reviewers there, I'd probably have to employ some such language myself.

TL;DR: clone() came from Linux, where "stupid" is the least colorful language you'll find, and me calling it "stupid" is just a rhetorical device.