Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

The PyCon Incident

pastebin.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

491–500 of 1001 posts

Re: The PyCon Incident

#491

Post by takluyver »

leviathant wrote: post #168
emiljbs wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Pretty sure she fabricated the "forking"-joke.

In light of https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5398681 I'd be interested to hear why you are pretty sure she fabricated the forking joke. I'm not agreeing with taking offense to what was said, but she didn't make up that someone said "I would fork that guys repo"

If we take the linked post at face value, it sounds to me like they had made 'forking a repo' a running non-sexual joke. When Adria overheard an instance of it, she wasn't aware of their context, and it sounded like innuendo.

With hindsight, taking it up with them in person, or leaving it to the conference staff, would probably have worked out better than going on a Twitter crusade.

Re: The PyCon Incident

#492

Post by crag »

danilocampos wrote: post #22

Couple pieces to this. First – the fact that this guy's employer made a kneejerk reaction is no one's fault but the employer. Next – let's talk about this red herring of "sexism." Making a phallus joke might be sexist depending on context. Or it might not be. Sexism is not at issue here. The individual in question concedes that they did, in fact, make the joke. From PyCon's code of conduct: "All communication should…

"From PyCon's code of conduct:"

Wait a minute. We're talking common sense here. Simply turning your head saying "You two mind?" Probably would've settled the affair right there.

They weren't insulting her personally. Just two guys exchanging stupid childish jokes. Where they in bad taste? Certainly. And Adria obviously considered them offensive. But did they (the guys) deserve the drama that's unfolded? Certainly not.

And frankly, I find it offensive that she's pulling out all the stops in justifying her actions. She quite proud of herself, isn't she?

Re: The PyCon Incident

#493

Post by tiredofcareer »

wpietri wrote: post #191
Joeboy wrote: post #142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Indeed, I am really puzzled as to why these "jokes" are supposed to be offensive to women. They might be offensive to people raised in some cultures / subcultures, and they don't sound like they're great jokes in any culture, but nobody ever told me about the meeting where women decided knob jokes were offensive. In fact a female friend texted me one about an hour ago.

Imagine this situation: You are walking down the street. It starts to rain, so you duck into the nearest business, a bar. You order a beer, and realize that you have stepped into a gay bar. The table behind you starts making jokes about how virgin anuses are the best. They are pretty big guys, leather daddies. You worry they're talking about you, about your anus. You worry. That feeling of discomfort? The way your he…

This is, without a doubt, the worst thing I have ever read on Hacker News. And I've read a lot. You should be ashamed of yourself for writing something so hopelessly intolerant.

Until now, I felt somewhat removed from this sexism-in-tech debate because I'm a man. Therefore, my opinions on it are outsiders' opinions, and it doesn't really have an impact on me directly (just indirectly). Now, though, since I'm a gay man, you've made me feel just as excluded as women in this community, so congratulations on making a bad situation several thousand times worse.

Wait, better not talk to me or be around me. I might rape you.

What a joke.

Re: The PyCon Incident

#494

Post by anigbrowl »

orangethirty wrote: post #152

This is a rather bizarre situation. Still, I visited Sendgrid's website to learn more about them. Click on their "We are hiring" link and scrolled down. What did I find? A sexual joke. On their very own company website. See for yourself: http://i.imgur.com/uWc8P39.png And before anyone says anything, the image depicts a person photocopying their genitals. It does not show gender, but the act is quite clear. Not somet…

Yikes. That would put me right off applying to work there.

Re: The PyCon Incident

#495

Post by mistercow »

ineedtosleep wrote: post #326
danilocampos wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If it were private, it wouldn't have happened with people nearby to hear it and the photo wouldn't have depicted dozens of people surrounding.

Exactly. If you're sitting in a restaurant eating with some acquaintances/friends, you shouldn't expect privacy there either. The table next to you can get offended with some random inside joke that includes the words "penis", "boob", or maybe even "yoga pants." No jokes allowed unless you're wrapped in a Faraday cage filled in with sound proof material. None whatsoever.

That analogy is completely ridiculous. Restaurants are not venues that require customers to agree to a code of conduct barring inappropriate jokes. They're also not the kind of places where people are sitting quietly and near enough each other to hear jokes told quietly.

Re: The PyCon Incident

#496

Post by rdl »

shardling wrote: post #366
BrianEatWorld wrote: post #188

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The office I work in is entirely male, myself included, and just because don how I was raised, these types of jokes make me uncomfortable. However, after I said something about the issue, my coworkers, like most human beings, made an effort to check themselves. However, until you say something, they can't do anything about it. I agree its a decency issue and not a sexism one.

Adria did not initially raise this as a "sexism" issue from what I can see -- just something the made her uncomfortable.

This makes me uncomfortable: https://twitter.com/adriarichards/status/312265091791847425

"Adria: you should put something in your pants next time .. like a bunch of socks inside one...large...sock. TSA agent faint."

So apparently it's ok to be sexual/hostile in someone else's work environment, just not your own?

Re: The PyCon Incident

#497

Post by MBlume »

danilocampos wrote: post #22

Couple pieces to this. First – the fact that this guy's employer made a kneejerk reaction is no one's fault but the employer. Next – let's talk about this red herring of "sexism." Making a phallus joke might be sexist depending on context. Or it might not be. Sexism is not at issue here. The individual in question concedes that they did, in fact, make the joke. From PyCon's code of conduct: "All communication should…

> First – the fact that this guy's employer made a kneejerk reaction is no one's fault but the employer.

This. Why isn't the employer in question's name front and center here? Aside from any attempt to punish them, people should just know that they're not a safe place to work, that they'll sacrifice one of their own out of fear.

Re: The PyCon Incident

#498

Post by alukima »

reeses wrote: post #479
alukima wrote: post #376

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Adria acting as judge and jury over twitter was totally wrong. She should have contacted PyCon Staff if she felt uncomfortable. That said, sexual comments at conventions get old really fast. Sure it's the first time you've made the tits or GTFO joke today but it's the billionth time I've heard it. Then there are the guys, total strangers, who want to quiz you on your 'nerd' qualifications. They also like to stand beh…

"She should have contacted PyCon Staff if she felt uncomfortable." She did, and tweeted that they had responded and said they handled it.

Then she should have let it end there.

Re: The PyCon Incident

#499

Post by mistercow »

paganel wrote: post #270
danilocampos wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If it were private, it wouldn't have happened with people nearby to hear it and the photo wouldn't have depicted dozens of people surrounding.

So you're saying "private" is not in fact, well, "private". I grew up as a kid on the wrong side of the Iron Curtain, in Eastern Europe, where as it happens walls had ears and "private" was not in fact "private". To see this stuff repeating 25 years later in the free world is scary.

Yes, that's right. A privately run conference asking attendees to behave professionally around other attendees is exactly like the KGB, and is a sure sign that we are sliding downward into totalitarianism.

Re: The PyCon Incident

#500

Post by tomp »

groby_b wrote: post #452
tomp wrote: post #295

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Her post is quite good, and provides a very good argumentation for her actions. For a moment, I almost agreed with her. Then I realized the problem, the same one that feminists are facing more and more; women want to be equal, but they want to keep certain privileges. They want to be accepted by men in tech as equals, but be spared sex jokes (that, btw, have nothing to do with tech, but have a lot to do with men; in…

Wait - being treated with professional courtesy is a privilege women have? Why did nobody ever tell me? Sex jokes have no place in the work place. Period. No matter the gender of the narrator or the audience.

I disagree. I like jokes, even sex jokes, even at the workplace.

However, it depends on company culture and policy, which should not be changed simply because one employee feels uncomfortable, even if it's a woman (or maybe the policy dictates that in such case the culture should be changed; nevertheless, gender shouldn't matter).

Post reply on HN