[UbuntuWomen] on names, language and a request for advice

[Jacinta Richardson]

Emma Jane Hogbin wrote:

> And now for the questions:
> (1) do you think derogatory names impact our perception of that group?

Yes and No.  IRC names aren't dictated by the group but rather by the individual
members.  Thus a name like "Ihatenoobs" gives me a warning that _one_ person in
the group might be unfriendly to new-commers, where as many names along those
lines would make me go away.  On the other hand, neutral names like "jarich" (my
usual nick) give me no warning as to what to expect.  Some names can suggest a
sense of humour, which is usually a good start.

On the other hand, most of the time I don't even look at who's on, unless I'm
looking *for* someone.

A derogatory name *for* the group would obviously have a bigger impact.

> (2) do you think names like "stupidgirl" should be permitted?

Yes.  Absolutely yes.  I also approve of names like "idiotwoman" even though I'd
never use it, and I'd be reluctant to type it into an irc channel even when
answering their question.

People pick names for all sorts of reasons.  I suspect stupidgirl picked hers as
both a sympathy ploy and self-defence.  If she calls herself "stupid" then it'll
hurt less if other people imply she's stupid, or if she has to ask for the
answers to be broken down into even simpler steps.  It also draws attention to
herself and will hopefully get people being more gentle to her when she does ask
questions.

While I agree that stupid* can inspire problems very much like yesterday's xkcd
comic ( http://xkcd.com/385/ ), I don't think that there's any value in
preventing people from picking such self-referential names.

("Allwomenarestupid" on the other hand should be banned and probably is)

> (3) how can we create a positive space (for women) without censoring people?

You change the culture.  ;)  (easier said than done).

> (4) how would you have addressed the problem with the #ubuntu-ops
> channel so they understood my concern (clearly I was not effective,
> pointers are appreciated)?

I wouldn't have.  Although I agree that they could have handled your request
better, I think they were correct in saying it wasn't their responsibility.  The
name wasn't saying all men|women|boys|girls|people were stupid, it was self
referential.  The person was not behaving badly.  Thus there's no ops issue.

I do understand your distress about the matter, I just don't agree with you.  I
think your second action, of addressing the person privately was the correct
action and what you should have been doing from the start.

> (5) are there further actions that I should take (including addressing
> the issue directly with the IRC Council)?

No idea.  You've achieved your desired result, and as I've stated I don't feel
that self-referential nicknames should be banned, by and large, so I don't see
there's any further actions required.  Clearly you will disagree, and that's
fine too.

All the best,

	J

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