[clug] Open Source Software's Dirty Little Secret

[Daniel Pittman]

Eyal Lebedinsky <eyal at eyal.emu.id.au> writes:

> I do not accept that my "way of thinking is a kind of discrimination".

...and you don't listen when anyone tells you that you are wrong, either.

> I talk about facts, not opinion.
> Women *are* different, regardless of how guilty anyone feels about this.

You conspicuously fail to provide any supporting evidence for your claims.

If assertion is all that is needed to prove something, why is it that you
refuse to accept the assertions that *multiple* people have made, now, that
your behaviour is discriminatory?

...or is it just that *your* assertion is all that is required, but other
people are help to a higher standard of proof?


> If I used this difference to justify decisions where the difference is
> irrelevant then I will be discriminating (in the bad sense).  And I don't do
> that.
>
> All are welcome to participate, yet if I take clug as one sample I can tell
> you that I saw no change in participation for, say, the last 15 years (or
> more?)

...and that couldn't, in any way, be caused by CLUG being an environment that
discouraged women from participating, right?

You *do* see the circular nature of that argument, don't you?  CLUG didn't
change, so CLUG is proof that this is the natural state of things, which is
why CLUG will never change...


> and I never saw any indication that women were discouraged.

Well, no.  Given that you have dismissed multiple people telling you, in
exactly those terms, that your behaviour discourages women, and you write, in
plain English for everyone to read:

> I do not accept that my "way of thinking is a kind of discrimination".

... it seems obvious that you will *NOT* have seen women discouraged, through
the simple process:

1. Women are discouraged.
2. Someone points this out.
3. You claim that it is not discouraging to women.

...and, bam, victory: no discrimination, or discouragement ever crossed your
path.  You win!

Now you get cake, and *MORE* proof that there was never any discrimination, or
discouragement, or anything.  After all, if there was you would have seen it,
right?


> I talk about facts, not opinion.

You *CLAIM* to talk about facts.  You conspicuously fail to provide any
supporting evidence for this, other than your own claims.


> All are always welcome regardless of gender, but also regardless of age,
> experience or any other measure you care to add.
>
> So, please tell me explicitly how women are discouraged from participation
> in clug (by actions of the participants) and I am ready to address it.

Sure:

 * stop talking about inherent gender differences.
 * stop using gender-biased language.
 * stop denying that FOSS and IT are discouraging to women.

How about that for a start, eh?

        Daniel
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