Linus Torvalds has revealed he sometimes doesn't even know those involved in Linux work for.

Speaking at Linux.conf.au in Melbourne recently, the Linux Kernel coordinator said: "Sometimes I don't even know who people work for because they tend to use their own e-mail address and sometimes they have company rules saying 'you are not allowed to use your company address', because officially, maybe, the company doesn't want their opinion to be seen as a company opinion", he said.

Torvalds wasn't concerned about knowing who the contributors were working for: "I know they get paid for doing Linux work and as far as I am concerned, I interact with a person".

Torvalds said he was pleased about corporations allowing their employees to be involved in Linux and other open source projects: "I see them as a special case of a contributor -- one who has resources that non-corporate individuals don't have", he added.