[clug] [wet] Re: Scope of list (was An alternate place for longer, meandering threads?)

[Alex Satrapa]

On 16/09/2009, at 12:10 , Robert Edwards wrote:

> CLUG is the Canberra Linux Users Group, by which _I_ understand:
> - Canberra and surrounding region (Southern NSW)

Don't forget the ex-pat Canberrans who are now living in civilisations  
far afield such as Sydney or Perth! I hear some of us have even lived  
in the USA for a while!

I don't think limiting the subscriber base artificially is going to  
help prevent unsubscription rates as much as teaching people to be  
polite in their public discussions. Such as, for example, not naming  
and shaming people when a simple statement along the lines of, "I was  
disappointed by a participant who looked around the room and quipped,  
'No women here! guess we don't have to watch our language'" would have  
carried the same message. The offender can take their own time about  
realising the comment was about them. Everyone else can be aware that  
there was this *behaviour* as opposed to this *person* who was causing  
discomfort, and in the meantime we're not left in the awkward  
situation of people airing their dirty laundry in public.

Along with exhorting people to "check their privilege", it might also  
be worth reminding people that other people have feelings to deal  
with. Getting along with other people is harder than getting Windows  
and Linux to share files, folks.

As far as the different user groups go CLUG meetings are from all  
reports that I've heard, by far the worst when it comes to opinionated  
arguments by people who will not admit that they have made mistakes,  
or have an opinion which doesn't have basis in real-world facts (as  
opposed to Truth, which is entirely subjective). This is quite  
separate from the long-winded discussions that some people like to  
have when playing philosophical games.

So here we are, Canberrans, the worst drivers in the country (short of  
Western Australians' collective fear of merging lanes), with the  
strongest opinions and political awareness of any society in the  
nation, and some of the blokes will have graduated from University  
having never realised that women actually existed outside of Ralph  
magazine or the K-Mart catalogue.

We have plenty of issues to discuss, regardless of where we are  
currently located. Some of them are related to Linux and the greater  
community of Linux users. Other issues are not related at all. If  
someone outside the greater Canberra enclave has an opinion on these  
issues, I have no qualms about them expressing it - especially if they  
can help uncover the uncomfortable Truths that we have come to accept  
in our big country town culture.

We can't solve social problems (threadnoughts on sexism as the prime  
example) through technical means. Social problems require people to  
speak up and say, "hey, that behaviour is not acceptable." Whether  
it's sexism or <common enemy>-bashing, it's just not cricket. However,  
let's not focus on what kind of behaviours are not acceptable on this  
list. Rather let us take the lead from those projects whose  
communities we admire, and encourage the behaviours that are desired.

If someone offends you, take it up with them in private - or at worst  
describe the offensive behaviour or opinion on the list, leaving names  
out to separate the offensive behaviour from the person. In the  
meantime, remember to thank people (publicly) for the help they give  
you. Shame privately, praise publicly.

Apologies for the essay.

Alex