[TriLUG] Palmer for another SC term; proposed amendment to the bylaws

[R Radford]

Matthew, could you ask your friend what about TriLUG that makes her feel
uncomfortable?

To me, I am not a fan of the anti-harrassment policy - but let me explain
....

I think harrassment, at any level, to any person, regardless of the reason
is WRONG. Everyone should know this by now, but sometimes people just don't
think, or they do not realize how polarzing their statements are received
by others, and a simple word to them (1-1, not in front of others so they
are embarrassed) is all that is needed to solve it in most cases.  The few
exceptions are people just being jerks.  I don't see how an official
document, sitting on a website somewhere is going to make someone stop what
they are already doing, or give someone else ammunition to resolve the
incident.

I do agree that women are missing in our group. The same is true in any
tech area and I don't see this change being the way to correct it.  I liked
the panel we had a few years ago about women in science where we heard
about their experiences.  To me, that was a step in the right direction and
I think a bit more targeted talks like that will help.  Unfortunately, we
can't fix this on our own - just going in to colleges you can see still see
a wide difference in male/female ratios.  In addition to targeted talks, we
should listen when someone posts a comment like Matthew did and try to
understand what is wrong - specifically - and address that.

So I do applaud your efforts Cristóbal and if others believe this is the
way to go, I will definitely not try to hinder it. But I do think this
would be a good time to look and see what is really the issue and try to
address those as best as we can.

On Fri, Apr 26, 2013 at 11:08 AM, Matthew Frazier
<leafstormrush at gmail.com>wrote:

> In my opinion, the key issue with regards to "gender imbalance" in
> technology is:
>
> Technology is cool, fun, and a great way to learn and/or make a living.
> (Obviously, the instantaneous fun level of technology varies, but overall
> it's a great field of endeavor.) And the whole point of TriLUG is to share
> the coolness/funness/practicalness of tech with other people. So if a
> person (*any* person) is interested in technology, we shouldn't be
> maintaining any artificial barriers that could keep them out.
>
> I know a woman who occasionally hangs out with the LUG @ NC State, and she
> says that the overall (perceived) attitude of TriLUG towards women is the
> main reason she doesn't attend TriLUG events, even though they tend to be
> more slanted to her interests than those at NC State. So, there is
> definitely at least one barrier out there. And while an anti-harassment
> policy isn't a magic bullet for getting rid of that barrier, it would at
> least serve to point us in the right direction.
>
> From a more practical view: I doubt an anti-harassment policy would
> constrain the freedom of expression of TriLUG members in any substantial
> way. I've attended probably a dozen TriLUG talks, and I've never seen
> anything from the front of the room that would contradict this policy (the
> worst I've heard overall is a few mild profanities). And I think everyone
> does agree that harassment isn't appropriate for TriLUG events. Considering
> that adopting this policy would open us up for sponsorship from Caktus, and
> other groups in the open source world with similar policies (such as the
> Python Software Foundation), I don't think there's a real downside.
>
> Thanks,
> Matthew Frazier
> http://leafstorm.us/
>
> On Apr 26, 2013, at 10:48 , Peter Neilson wrote:
>
> > On Fri, 26 Apr 2013 08:43:36 -0400, Dwain Sims <dsims at bayleafnc.org>
> wrote:
> >
> >> Cristóbal:
> >>
> >> I am all in favor of folks acting civil in public gatherings.  It's just
> >> common sense to me.
> >>
> >> I will support this idea.
> >
> > Here's a totally different perspective, as related by my wife, on what
> may or may not be the issue under discussion. (I've not followed the entire
> thread, and may be late to dinner here.)
> >
> > "It's free speech. Anyone should be able to say anything. The
> consequences belong to the individual. If men are worried about 'gender
> imbalance' in an area of endeavor, let them go and take up English-style
> horseback riding, which seems currently dominated by females. And yes,
> riders make jokes about the imbalance."
> > --
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