Johnny Clifford writes, from "somewhere in England"…
Mark, I think you should remember that the Python team are British (yes, that includes Terry G — he's been living here for the past fifty-odd years). Most of us Brits are uncomfortable telling people how much we actually like them, so, instead, we "take the piss." We are also uncomfortable with the American style of gushing with praise for everything, so instead we offer compliments in an ironic manner. I refer you to a passage in the book The Name of the Rose, written by an Italian, where the German narrator sums up the main character (an English man) as being impossible to read because he always appears to do the opposite of what he means. The Python team are (overwhelmingly) a product of the English "public" school system. That they praise each other using a system of insults is no surprise to anybody on this side of the pond.
As to how they "allow" this to spread over the press or the internet — please tell me how they could actually stop this from happening. Could you? Also, why on earth should they want to?
Well, I may be making too much of this…so I'll just say that some of their published/quoted remarks about one another have not struck me as "compliments in an ironic manner." They've struck me as anger and hostility, which I'm sure also exist somewhere in the British style. Maybe I'm just not on the proper wavelength but if I interpret it that way, others probably do, too.
How could they stop this from spreading over the Internet? By not saying such things in venues where they're sure to be quoted, including their own tweets and postings.
Why would they want to? I dunno…maybe because it can be awkward to call someone names and then work with them? Or to have such quotes live on long after the anger has abated?
I'm not saying people who get pissed at one another should never say so. I just sometimes wonder if some of these disagreements are best handled by flaunting them in public. If I call someone a jerk in person or on the phone, we can kiss and make up and the remark will be forgotten. When you call someone a jerk on the Internet, that lives on forever and may well be taken as more serious (and current) than you intend it, if not at the time then certainly later.