[UbuntuWomen] Use full real name policy

[Sarah Hobbs]

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(Apologies for breaking threading, I haven't been subscribed to this
mailing list in a long time)

Hey all,

I'd like to mention that I've been recently pushing the "real names"
issue with some of the powers that be, along with various other issues
for the way women are treated in Ubuntu (particularly with the recent
Hardy release name, and the related jokes).

In the last few months, i've been getting harrassed from my real name on
my IRC client, and my real name / picture on launchpad.  I've
subsequently changed my real name on IRC, where the harassment has
dropped to close to 0.  Hooray!  I also changed my launchpad picture,
but not the real name.

I spoke to Matt Revell (Communications guy for launchpad) about this
issue - and told him quite bluntly about the fact that if I got
harassment due to having the real name in launchpad, i'd change that too
- - to hell with the beta testers requiring a real name for participation.
 His reply was that he wouldn't throw me out of the beta team for
removing my real name, if the situation came to that.

Caroline, i'd suggest you use whichever name you like on launchpad, even
when applying for the beta team - it's your freedom here, and this is
free software that we participate in.  There is NO reason that we should
have to endure harassment, just to have access to a specific subsection
of ubuntu.  Are we really more "real" to people when we use a real name,
rather than using an alias?

I guess I just wanted to write this as an encouragement to say that this
hasn't been forgotten about, and that things are slowly starting to happen.

Hobbsee
(Ubuntu/Kubuntu core developer, etc)

Notes:
1) I never signed the real name agreement anyway, i was in the beta team
before that point - so I'm unsure if the requirements apply to me anyway

2) The powers that be are aware that the hiding of a real name is not
the ideal way to solve the issue - it's a workaround, not a solution -
which is quite true.  Still, that's no reason that we should be forced
to endure harassment, just to use a section of launchpad.

3) When I was at the Ubuntu Developers Summit in May, I introduced
myself as Hobbsee for the entirety of the conference - to everyone
except those I knew very well on irc.  The one time that I introduced
myself as Sarah by accident, I got a polite hello - the kind you get
when the person has no clue who you are.  I then said "oh, i'm Hobbsee",
and got a much better response.

It doesn't seem to be a problem to use an alias, as long as you stay
with the same name.  I'm still unsure why the powers that be require a
real name - does using a real name make me more real than if i use a
nickname?

4) Apologies for this mail being semi-unclear - it's almost 2 in the
morning, and this issue does fire me up somewhat.
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