An Open Letter to the Open Source Community

Eric Dunbar eric.dunbar at gmail.com
Fri May 25 00:57:45 BST 2007


Some interesting discussion going on... I thought I'd throw this
thought out there without conflating it with other issues.

I have read comments which suggest that there is a "need for a thicker
skin" and (paraphrasing heavily) "boys will be boys" or "it's just a
bit of fun".

In an office or similar environment (where, truthfully, most of us
work) some of the comments that arose would have had you keelhauled.
It's the anonymity of the on-line environment that allows people to
say things without fearing _meaningful_ consequences. As such, it is
MUCH MORE important that we watch what we're saying.

In personal interactions, a brief transgression might get you a raised
eyebrow or a comment, but, in all likelihood, it'll be forgotten
(unless it was a pretty major transgression that exposed a deep-seated
or particularly offensive prejudice). Only if it's your boss doing the
transgressing are things different.

On-line these transgressions will not necessarily cause you pain or
embarrassment, but they will be recorded for everyone to see and
consider. A sexist statement may not get a response and it will
probably not get you booted from a list, but, it might just send a
silent message to the (unintended) target.

Anyway, gotta do some more work.



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