[UbuntuWomen] Ubuntu-women IRC channel discussion

[Melissa Draper]

On Thu, 2010-01-07 at 11:15 -0500, Elizabeth Krumbach wrote:
> On Thu, Jan 7, 2010 at 8:33 AM, Melissa Draper <melissa at meldraweb.com> wrote:
> > counsel/mentoring out in the cold, there will probably still be a
> > contingent who continue to believe we're an clique of chauvinist
> > Amazonian fem-bots intent on taking over the world.
> 
> I understand that it is an exaggeration, but I am very uncomfortable
> with this wording and feel shines a bad light on folks who have
> approached us with legitimate concerns over the state of the channel.
> Please let's try to keep this discussion in real terms and encourage
> opposing viewpoints on this subject :)

*If* it gets to the point that we've abolished all forms of social
interaction and counsel within the project for the sake of appeasing the
"opposing viewpoints" and the issue still persists past that point, then
yes, I think it does deserve mockery, and I probably won't still be
involved with Ubuntu to provide it if we do happen to ever theoretically
let ourselves be silenced to that point.

> That said what DO we think about incident reporting in the channel as
> part of the channel purpose?
> 
> As I see it:
> 
> Pros:
>  * Lowers barrier to incident reporting so it's less likely a woman
> will be scared off by a "process" and can report things easily
>  * Provides a space where sensitive topics to be discussed, which are
> important for the goals of the project
>  * If specific names, places etc details are not included in reporting
> the incident, it can be a healthy place to discuss challenges we all
> may have faced and give feedback on current situations we're dealing
> with. The channel has served this purpose well in the past few years.

This last point of yours would encourage what is akin to reporting
software bugs without version information :( and should probably be
reworded.

> Cons:
>  * We may be encouraging folks to report incidents in a space that
> they assume is safe and secure when it may not be[0]

And it is up to us to litigate the risk of this through educating
folks. 

>  * If details are included in the report I believe we will have
> problems, logging or not - if it's logged all incidents reported are
> viewable by the world, if it's not logged we continue to have to fight
> the stigma within the community that we're a secretive project

Again, that's up to what is offered in contrast. Currently the project
stuff is drowned out. Even on the mailing list where reports of bad
behaviour are rare and introductions very common.

If we provide a place to focus on it, and that place is managed in a way
where we can be more public, then I really think it will help.

> 
> Either way, I think there should always be a way to report incidents,
> with details, to leader(s) of the project directly without fear - just
> like the Community Council provides for the rest of the Ubuntu
> community.
> 
> [0] https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-women/2010-January/002366.html
> 
> -- 
> Elizabeth Krumbach // Lyz // pleia2
> http://www.princessleia.com
> 


-- 
Melissa Draper

w: http://meldraweb.com & http://geekosophical.net
p: +61 4 0472 2736