[ubuntu-uk] Code of conduct (was For 'women' read 'newbs')

[Pete Ryland]

On 20/03/07, Tony Arnold <tony.arnold at manchester.ac.uk> wrote:
> Pete Ryland wrote:
> > It is offensive.  The joke's premise is based on the (untrue)
> > generalisation that all women are unfathomable.
>
> Or rather that women are unfathomable by men. That's offensive to men
> isn't it?

The point of the joke was that women are unfathomable full stop, *even
to $creator*.  If you really want to take this further, then the joke
is also told from the point of view of men, so it's also exclusive.

> Nearly all jokes are based on a premise that usually is not quite true
> but kind of rings true in many people's minds. It's the basis of humour!

Ok, let's say that an Englishman was with a large group of Canadians
(or even a group of large Canadians) and Canadians seem to think that
Englishmen are all slow.  Let's say that they make a joke ridiculing
this "truth".  Put yourself in those shoes and you may well feel as
though you are being made unwelcome, no matter how funny the joke, nor
how true the truism.  This is not the kind of atmosphere that we want
to encourage.

Anyway, re-enforcing untrue stereotypes is really not healthy.

> > In any case, it wasn't even funny, and was remarkably off topic.
>
> Well, if you substitute 'newbs' for 'women' in the joke as the subject
> line suggested it was spot on!

I tried this, but the joke didn't really work for me.  I don't
terribly like the term "newbs" anyway.  It's horribly unspecific, and
not terribly helpful most of the time.  All of us are still learning,
and each of us focuses our learning on different things.

Pete