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

[Roy Vestal]

So after reading all the emails, and the posts, and the websites, and 
the policies, etc., here are some thoughts from a lurking, "old" member.

Here is my background as pertaining to TriLUG: I am a long time member 
(since 1998), a former SC member and a former room sponsor (RTI). Since 
the move to Red Hat's campus (wow that was a LONG time ago), I haven't 
been able to get to many meetings due to family and community 
responsibilities. I lurk a lot on IRC, and read almost all the posts on 
the mailer. I even still have my "gold" TriLUG membership card. ;)  I 
know most folks in TriLUG don't know me from Adam, and that's ok.

With all that said, I don't see how this proposal will help TriLUG's 
"gender imbalance". I don't necessarily see it hurting either, but I see 
nothing that it will do to help. Over my 23+ years in the IT world, I 
find there just aren't as many women interested in this field as the 
men. Not to say women aren't as good as men. By no means. My wife TAUGHT 
me Unix. I know 2 ladies from TriLUG (oddly enough both named Lisa) that 
can run circles around most men in this field, including me! The women 
in my department are what most of you would deem as experts if you ever 
had the honor of working with them. But that doesn't change the fact 
that the majority of the IT world is men. Personally, I could care less 
if it's a man or woman, just as long as they get the work done, and done 
well.

Now the fact that there are women who don't want to come to a TriLUG 
event because of males of the species being stupid jerks, that's a 
different story. I do know there are guys in any organization that are 
just jerks. I won't call them "men" because they don't respect others, 
and I won't give them respect they don't deserve.

So, here are my recommendation to the SC, and to TriLUG'ers in general:

Before adding yet another requirement/resolution/amendment to the 
bylaws, ask the men, the real ones, to step up and say to the jerks, "We 
won't allow harrassment, period". Folks, just treat each other with 
civility. And hold each other to a high, professional standard. If you 
do this, the jerks will go away.

And if I remember correctly, the SC already has the right to revoke 
memberships (trying to recall from memory because I can only find the 
Articles of Incorporation are online). I don't remember on what basis 
though, sorry.

As for the specific wording of the proposal, it is very limiting and I 
believe will, in the end, cause folks that you want to keep in the 
group, actually leave TriLUG.

As a silly example, I wouldn't be able to pick on Tanner about servers 
(ahh the days of old), or Tarus about his hats, or Kevin about his going 
to the "dark" side, because that could be construed by someone as 
"offensive verbal comments related to [their]... physical appearance... 
or technical background".  Now I know this example is way out there, but 
I purposely chose this to show that these types of policies only open up 
the door for complaining, and clics to form to get someone removed, 
power stuggles, etc. I've seen this happen with other volunteer groups 
that have enacted similar policies to the point the group just folded.

Note: (I chose these guys for my example because I know them, they know 
I'm full of it anyway, and they would know this was an example and not a 
flame.)

I appreciate, and applaud the work that Christobol put into this. I 
think his point of civility, respect, and encouragement to follow this 
common sense approach is right on the mark, AND I believe each TriLUG 
member should use it as a standard and guide, and should hold 
themselves, and their fellow members to it, when at a TriLUG event. 
However, I believe adding this as a bylaw will cause unintentional 
consequences down the road. More tension, and less relaxed times with 
fellow linux enthusiasts, and geeks (yes I are one!).

I'll put it this way, you can't legislate morality, nor common sense, 
the members of the culture has to demand these from each other. As Ron 
White would put it, "You can't fix stupid".

What I'm suggesting is that all TriLUG'ers follow this policy on the 
honor system, but don't vote it into the bylaws.

Just my $0.02. Please, keep the change,
-Roy


On 4/26/13 11:08 AM, Matthew Frazier 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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