Handmaid, not Handmaiden

Posted Dec 4, 2010 20:30 UTC (Sat) by vaurora (subscriber, #38407)
In reply to: Handmaid, not Handmaiden by tialaramex
Parent article: The dark side of open source conferences

Thanks for the correction on the book title!

Re: "yelling at people who are doing their job" - I think you may have the people and events in this thread mixed up. I was the person who suggested that "yelling at people who are doing their job" was not the right thing to do, and I am also the person who wrote the anti-harassment policy. The young woman who yelled at the people doing their job is the daughter of a commenter and was not, to my knowledge, involved in writing the policy.

Handmaid, not Handmaiden

Posted Dec 5, 2010 15:06 UTC (Sun) by tialaramex (subscriber, #21167) [Link] (4 responses)

No, I have the people and events perfectly straight, and my priorities straight too. You had an opportunity to clearly and forthrightly condemn harassment and you didn't take it. Depending on the messenger, silence can be its own message. Perhaps you'd like to rectify that now?

Handmaid, not Handmaiden

Posted Dec 5, 2010 21:59 UTC (Sun) by vaurora (subscriber, #38407) [Link] (3 responses)

Really? Seriously? You're calling me to task for not being sufficiently outraged about a young woman being upset at several other women being exploited at a tech conference? Do you think maybe you might be derailing a bit?

Okay, I shouldn't feed the trolls but I'll make an exception. Yes, I clearly and forthrightly condemn yelling at women hired to create a sexualized environment at technology conference. I even more clearly and forthrightly condemn the decision to hire women to create a sexualized environment at a technology conference - something that happens rather more often and has a far greater negative effect, yet doesn't seem to bother you as much.

Now, please, after you - go straight ahead and review my article and this thread and take every "opportunity to clearly and forthrightly condemn
harassment" where you see it. Because I see a lot of opportunities you may have missed...

The dark side of open source conferences

Posted Dec 6, 2010 3:10 UTC (Mon) by tialaramex (subscriber, #21167) [Link] (2 responses)

Thank you, I hope that's clear. I decline to identify every possible incidence of harassment, it lies outside my interest and expertise, and seems likely to be fruitless.

I will give you two pieces of advice though: If you're unsure whether you are being trolled, it is not a good idea to reply and accuse the person of trolling.

Secondly I suggest you read "The Sparrow" by Mary Doria Russell, and think upon the gravity of the mistakes you can make when you assume that others see things exactly the way you do, think about them the way you do, and feel about them the same way you do.

The dark side of open source conferences

Posted Dec 6, 2010 6:23 UTC (Mon) by bronson (subscriber, #4806) [Link]

"Perhaps you'd like to rectify that now?" Are you kidding?

You're so full of advice and strong words, and so hard of hearing, that I think anyone could be forgiven for smelling a troll. Maybe tone it down a notch?

The dark side of open source conferences

Posted Dec 8, 2010 8:59 UTC (Wed) by k8to (guest, #15413) [Link]

I read the Sparrow. It's tripe.

I also know that yelling is not the same as harassment: On the way to work the other day, three cars entered an intersection when there was not enough room in the lane they wanted on the other side. The light changed. They dumbly stayed lined up blocking traffic. I was walking by and yelled "GET OUT OF THE INTERSECTION, YOU IDIOTS! PULL INTO THE OTHER LANE! ITS YOUR ERROR!" This was not harassment.