I blame the disagreement on online communications. Can you imagine this conflict lasting this long if these guys had been talking about it in person over coffee? They would probably behave with much more restraint and respect for each other.
When you're a global company serving a billion plus users on every continent, you can't expect face-to-face discussions with everyone who reports a bug or makes a feature request. You need to be able to handle written feedback.
That's a downside of exclusive reliance on written communication, not of remote work. You can avoid this with a phone call or a "can we pair for a bit?" session as well.
