Inappropriate comments at pycon 2013 called out

Post by burtgoldberg » Wed, Mar 20, 2013, 6:53 PM UTC

mr-hank wrote: post #23

Hi, I'm the guy who made a comment about big dongles. First of all I'd like to say I'm sorry. I really did not mean to offend anyone and I really do regret the comment and how it made Adria feel. She had every right to report me to staff, and I defend her position. However, there is another side to this story. While I did make a big dongle joke about a fictional piece hardware that identified as male, no sexual jokes…

Post by andybak » Wed, Mar 20, 2013, 6:56 PM UTC

TY812 wrote: post #232

adriarichards wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hey, Thanks for speaking up, contributing your viewpoint on HN and not attacking me. I'm sorry to hear your employer deciding to not to work with you on this and I hope they reconsider, bring you back on and dealing with it constructively. For context, I'm a developer evangelist. That means I'm an advocate for developers, male and female. While I hear abou demanding bosses with impossible deadlines for product launch…

> For context, I'm a developer evangelist. Actually, no, you are not. You are - by definition - a terrorist, applying unlawful use of force or violence against people with the intention of intimidating or coercing groups of people and societies for ideological or political reasons. The fact that you do have supporters shows the sad state of affairs this world is in.

Post by thisone » Wed, Mar 20, 2013, 7:00 PM UTC

ludoo wrote: post #220

drridta wrote: post #161

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If I would be Mr Hank I would go and sue Adria as she took a photo of him and distributed it without his consent. This is a serious privacy issue. I would like to read her post after she gets fired in a similar way because of a photo. I'm sure she would feel the pain.

In most EU countries she would have commited a serious penal offense.

Post by oh_sigh » Wed, Mar 20, 2013, 7:06 PM UTC

uchi wrote: post #226

mkr-hn wrote: post #198

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It probably wouldn't be a big deal in a more equitable society, but an innocent remark can easily be taken the wrong way when it comes after the chain of sexism women deal with in any given day. Someone wrote an article (that I can't find) about how she felt bad about all those times she overreacted to an innocent remark, and how it was probably counterproductive. It's hard to filter the harmless dongle jokes from th…

"an innocent remark can easily be taken the wrong way when it comes after the chain of sexism women deal with in any given day." ...what? How much effort do you put in to finding everything sexist? This ladybug mounting another ladybug outside my window? Sexually oppressive. The female ladybug should be capable of choosing which position is preferable for her. This pencil in my hand? It's long. Hence a phallic object…

Post by oh_sigh » Wed, Mar 20, 2013, 7:09 PM UTC

zshprompt wrote: post #18

colabug wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not about her being offended by a particular comment, nor is it required that said comment be directed at her. The issue is the environment that is created when such things are quietly tolerated. Sure staff could have been involved, but then it's not a teachable moment, just another moment suffered in silence while the "authorities" handle the situation for her. It may seem like a small event to you, but I'd sug…

I read that article when it came out. This is not a "lighten up honey situation". Adria has every right to be offended and absolutely every right to call out their bad behavior. I just feel in hindsight it would have been better if she gave the PyCon staff a chance to address the matter before posting pictures of people on twitter. It was her right to take a picture of those guys, its the posting before doing anythin…