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Antisocial Coding: My Year at GitHub

where.coraline.codes

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Re: Antisocial Coding: My Year at GitHub

#21

Post by problems »

Dirlewanger wrote: post #14
problems wrote: post #12

Isn't this the person who ran a code of conduct that has a website which includes things like "thoughtless use of pronouns" and mentions meritocracy as an evil, not a goal to strive for? Can't really say I'm expecting someone like that to be low friction.

She went on a tirade against an Opal contributor a couple years back: https://github.com/opal/opal/issues/941

Didn't know about that, but abrasiveness like that is really unfortunate. It makes real progress harder because it means people dig in on views that maybe they shouldn't.

Re: Antisocial Coding: My Year at GitHub

#22

Post by tthayer »

puranjay wrote: post #15
tyingq wrote: post #8

I've seen this a few times. People with a naturally terse way of communicating eventually end up offending someone with the power to retaliate.

I know it sounds like a joke, but I've taken to using a lot of exclamation marks in my communication lately for this very reason. It feels dumb to me but I know for a fact that some people who are quick to take offense ease when they see it.

How I sound when I reply: :D

How I look when I reply: :|

Re: Antisocial Coding: My Year at GitHub

#23

Post by ivraatiems »

Dirlewanger wrote: post #13

While GitHub seemingly handled her employment poorly, this person sounds horrible to work with: >Was politely calling out a data scientist on a problematic and transphobic survey answer a demonstration of lack of empathy? How presumptuous. Ever thought that maybe the person putting it together didn't know any better? What does framing oneself as the victim accomplish here? In addition, this is hilariously ironic give…

Do you think this person is unusual in her communication style? She posted the complete text of the "problem" comment. If you got that message from a colleague, would you consider it unacceptable? Why or why not? If yes, what could she have said that would have made it OK?

How would you answer her core question of whether or not the comment she made is appropriate?

Re: Antisocial Coding: My Year at GitHub

#24

Post by oblio »

puranjay wrote: post #15
tyingq wrote: post #8

I've seen this a few times. People with a naturally terse way of communicating eventually end up offending someone with the power to retaliate.

I know it sounds like a joke, but I've taken to using a lot of exclamation marks in my communication lately for this very reason. It feels dumb to me but I know for a fact that some people who are quick to take offense ease when they see it.

I just use smileys. I know that some people see them as childish/immature/unprofessional, but especially in a multi-cultural environment I prefer to be safe.

Irony, sarcasm and humor don't scale well.

Re: Antisocial Coding: My Year at GitHub

#25

Post by thsowers »

Dirlewanger wrote: post #13

While GitHub seemingly handled her employment poorly, this person sounds horrible to work with: >Was politely calling out a data scientist on a problematic and transphobic survey answer a demonstration of lack of empathy? How presumptuous. Ever thought that maybe the person putting it together didn't know any better? What does framing oneself as the victim accomplish here? In addition, this is hilariously ironic give…

Just think it's worth mentioning that she doesn't seem to present evidence that the data scientist was "transphobic". She seems to discount the possibility the data scientist was unaware of how to properly ask that question on surveys (as am I). Perhaps she had more personal experience with the data scientist in question to justify this claim, but that should of been included here.

Re: Antisocial Coding: My Year at GitHub

#26

Post by azinman2 »

Dirlewanger wrote: post #14
problems wrote: post #12

Isn't this the person who ran a code of conduct that has a website which includes things like "thoughtless use of pronouns" and mentions meritocracy as an evil, not a goal to strive for? Can't really say I'm expecting someone like that to be low friction.

She went on a tirade against an Opal contributor a couple years back: https://github.com/opal/opal/issues/941

The maintainers instant reply was super flippant and worthy of retort.

Never really wanted to use opal before, but if this is who is behind it...

Re: Antisocial Coding: My Year at GitHub

#27

Post by FTA »

sethrin wrote: post #6

Am I reading this correctly? Fired for lack of empathetic communication? Is that really a thing?

I've noticed in international teams that there can be a culture clash when it comes to communication. People from some countries favor communication that is much more flourished and gentle, while folks from other countries are much more blunt and to the point (not necessarily to be curt, but rather they just get to the point). I've seen this clash also on mailing lists for open source projects that have an active global community.

Also, in academia, there is a similar phenomenon for letters of recommendation that can actually really hurt your chances if you are not familiar with the intricacies. For example, if you are applying for an American position, letters are expected only shower praise upon the applicant. But for European positions, letters are intended to be a straightforward and honest assessment of the applicant--highlighting both the good and the bad (e.g. [0]).

I'm not trying to justify this action by any means. I can just see how it may come about.

[0]: https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/53876/postdoc-r...

Re: Antisocial Coding: My Year at GitHub

#28

Post by ivraatiems »

giggles_giggles wrote: post #18

"I was well aware of GitHub's very problematic past, from its promotion of meritocracy in place of a management system" This person mentions multiple times that meritocracy is a bad idea, that promotion or reward based on merit should be done away with in order to promote diversity, e.g., racial/gender-based quotas. This is a person who does not view competence as the primary trait to select for within a market, and…

> This person mentions multiple times that meritocracy is a bad idea, that promotion or reward based on merit should be done away with in order to promote diversity, e.g., racial/gender-based quotas.

She wasn't fired for that.

> This is a person who does not view competence as the primary trait to select for within a market, and is insisting here that competence be downplayed to make room for people with the correct melanin levels and/or chromosomes.

She wasn't fired for that either.

> Uh oh! The data scientist isn't up to date on the trends in gender studies and critical theory, better send her off to sensitivity training!

She was fired because GitHub alleged she was the insensitive one here. Do you agree?

Re: Antisocial Coding: My Year at GitHub

#30

Post by ivraatiems »

thsowers wrote: post #25
Dirlewanger wrote: post #13

While GitHub seemingly handled her employment poorly, this person sounds horrible to work with: >Was politely calling out a data scientist on a problematic and transphobic survey answer a demonstration of lack of empathy? How presumptuous. Ever thought that maybe the person putting it together didn't know any better? What does framing oneself as the victim accomplish here? In addition, this is hilariously ironic give…

Just think it's worth mentioning that she doesn't seem to present evidence that the data scientist was "transphobic". She seems to discount the possibility the data scientist was unaware of how to properly ask that question on surveys (as am I). Perhaps she had more personal experience with the data scientist in question to justify this claim, but that should of been included here.

> Just think it's worth mentioning that she doesn't seem to present evidence that the data scientist was "transphobic".

She doesn't say they were. She says the question as phrased was. That's a big difference.

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