The dark side of open source conferences [about women being harassed]
1–10 of 220 posts
Re: The dark side of open source conferences [about women being harassed]
#2That reminds me, what happened with the Florian Leibert scandal? Any word from him since the event?
Re: The dark side of open source conferences [about women being harassed]
#3While I'm pleased to see this article on HN, is it appropriate to use a "subscriber link" in a public forum like HN?
Re: The dark side of open source conferences [about women being harassed]
#4That reminds me, what happened with the Florian Leibert scandal? Any word from him since the event?
It appears to have died, or migrated to more appropriate fora. Thankfully.
Re: The dark side of open source conferences [about women being harassed]
#5Ah, yes.
I remember once casually joking at a get together, Someone needs to tell ESR that he's not God's gift to women. When everyone was done laughing, it turned out that both women present at the table had actually been propositioned by ESR. (And had turned him down.)
A small minority of men cause the vast majority of the problem. Unfortunately it doesn't take many to create a real problem.
Re: The dark side of open source conferences [about women being harassed]
#6While I'm pleased to see this article on HN, is it appropriate to use a "subscriber link" in a public forum like HN?
I do agree that people who enjoy the quality of LWN.net should pay the $7 monthly fee. For Linux/FOSS hobbyists, it is a good online periodical. I speak as a once and future subscriber.
Re: The dark side of open source conferences [about women being harassed]
#7I think this is a good article and a great reminder to us all about the underside to the world. I do want to say, though, that the 'men' (and they are only described as such due to their gender) in this story are a very small minority that you would find in any group of people.
I'm not so naive to say that sexism doesn't exist in our industry, because it clearly does, but I would say that the vast majority of people would neither encourage or stand for any sort of sexism, whether overt or not.
I think it is tempting to create a link between the stereotypical 'geek' - who is a guy that lives in his mom's basement and never meets women - and the sort of overt sexism and abuse as described in this article, but that is dangerous. That stereotype no longer exists, if it ever did, and there will always be men, from whatever industry or walk of life, who view women as objects and not equals. We need to work on this attitude in every walk of life, not just in the tech world.
Re: The dark side of open source conferences [about women being harassed]
#8That reminds me, what happened with the Florian Leibert scandal? Any word from him since the event?
What happened is that she called the Atlanta police, who found no cause to charge him. End of story.
Re: The dark side of open source conferences [about women being harassed]
#9I think this is a good article and a great reminder to us all about the underside to the world. I do want to say, though, that the 'men' (and they are only described as such due to their gender) in this story are a very small minority that you would find in any group of people. I'm not so naive to say that sexism doesn't exist in our industry, because it clearly does, but I would say that the vast majority of people…
Indeed. In fact that stereotypical geek has, I think, never been the one to pull of these sorts of overt sexual advances (so the link is/was an unfair one).
But because the industry is so female light a (relatively speaking) large proportion of the women in it have been propositioned or assaulted by the more forward members of the group.
Re: The dark side of open source conferences [about women being harassed]
#10I get tired of women complaining about sexism in the startup/tech field.
Yes, ladies, you will be hit on a lot at a conference filled with mostly guys. You are an attractive minority. Now, to the point:
--- There is no excuse for physical assault. I can even almost excuse a guy going in for a peck, but grab-ass and worse are not cool. If you're going to proposition a girl, do it with your wits and your words, not a firm, open palmed slap on the behind.
On behalf of all young, healthy, mate-seeking males, I apologize for the few who make us all out to be classless jerks.
--- Of course, it can be argued that you shouldn't be looking to hook up at a FOSS conference, but really... when ISN'T a single guy looking for a woman with similar interests (inside and outside the bedroom)? This isn't a 'geek' problem, it's a 'human' problem.