> For example, during one of the talks on Sunday a woman took a photograph of two men who had been joking to each other by lightly sexualizing some computer jargon and she tweeted about it citing their remarks as offensive
Jokes along the lines of "my dick is pythonic" may be hilarious among your python-hacking friends, but saying it in a space where you don't know who's listening and what they've gone through was not a good idea.
> On the offensive remark I have very few details, but those I was given was that it was something like “you’re the hottest.” That doesn’t sound very bad to me but I suppose that could have been a polite paraphrasing of what I said
There are many women for whom that's the low end of the sexual harassment they endure. It is pretty tame, relatively speaking, but another straw on the back in a culture that condones much worse.
> Gray areas. Guys are pretty likely to make dick jokes when in the company of like-minded individuals, how far from conference grounds should they be before that becomes okay?
Speak for yourself. I find it horribly inappropriate in anything approaching a professional setting. Basically, you seem to have limited perspective on the other half of the population, and a large part of your own. This is a great chance to learn.
I think your tone here is a little more combative than the article deserves.
>If anything, I hope talking about it reduces these sorts of incidents without anybody feeling like their rights are being reduced as well.
This (along with >I'm not fighting the decision to ban me) read to me like a guy who wants to spark a dialogue on what should be considered appropriate at these events.
Context is a huge issue here. I wouldn't come into any hacker-culture event with an expectation of professionalism and maturity -- maybe I'm not the majority.
> I think your tone here is a little more combative than the article deserves.
It's entirely possible it sounds combative. It's not intentional.
> Context is a huge issue here. I wouldn't come into any hacker-culture event with an expectation of professionalism and maturity -- maybe I'm not the majority.
A big part of professionalism is avoiding certain low-value behaviors because some people you might like to get along with are bothered by said behaviors. Professionalism doesn't have to mean putting on a suit and spouting buzzwords.
>A big part of professionalism is avoiding certain low-value behaviors because some people you might like to get along with are bothered by said behaviors.
Which is something I personally wouldn't expect at a hacker-culture convention.
"my dick is pythonic" may be low brow, but low brow humor is just part of communication. I fall on the other side here.
grey areas here I agree with you, professional settings should not have low brow humor.
but "you’re the hottest.” here I disagree.
I wouldn't call that relatively tame. That's gang mentality against a visible minority in the community.
What's so frustrating about the status of women in technology is there is nothing I can do about the bottom 1% of my male demographic ostracizing women. Short of asking they be removed.
> I wouldn't call that relatively tame. That's gang mentality against a visible minority in the community.
I put it in the box of things that could be brushed off in a more equitable society. But it probably sounded like I was downplaying it since we're in agreement.
Regarding "how far from conference grounds", "joking" in the hotel lobby or restroom may be a gray area, but I would consider a BoF meetup as still within the realm of the conference.
Also, whether the woman played the Cards Against Humanity game or not has no bearing on whether his behavior was inappropriate.
> For example, during one of the talks on Sunday a woman took a photograph of two men who had been joking to each other by lightly sexualizing some computer jargon and she tweeted about it citing their remarks as offensive
Jokes along the lines of "my dick is pythonic" may be hilarious among your python-hacking friends, but saying it in a space where you don't know who's listening and what they've gone through was not a good idea.
> On the offensive remark I have very few details, but those I was given was that it was something like “you’re the hottest.” That doesn’t sound very bad to me but I suppose that could have been a polite paraphrasing of what I said
There are many women for whom that's the low end of the sexual harassment they endure. It is pretty tame, relatively speaking, but another straw on the back in a culture that condones much worse.
> Gray areas. Guys are pretty likely to make dick jokes when in the company of like-minded individuals, how far from conference grounds should they be before that becomes okay?
Speak for yourself. I find it horribly inappropriate in anything approaching a professional setting. Basically, you seem to have limited perspective on the other half of the population, and a large part of your own. This is a great chance to learn.