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Re:Results of Rust Survey 2016 – early draft for internal usage by adrusi on Thursday June 23, 2016 @10:29AM (#11961109)
Does anybody actually believe that diverse cultural backgrounds are at all relevant to ideas about programming language design or compiler programming? Claims that diversity is good for project organization sound believable, but I see no reason to think the diversity of background has any impact on technical contributions.

There is no moral obligation to have a diverse group, just to have a group that is tolerant of diversity, in the interest of fairness for members of minority groups. Encouraging actual diversity is just a strategy to avoid letting people who don't care about this stuff develop bubbles of intolerance in homogenous bubbles where intolerance isn't challenged regularly. The presence of diversity indicates a lack of intolerance, but a group consisting entirely of one demographic could be just as tolerant, and its homogeneity just a coincidence or a result of lack of advertising. So I find it a little strange when a group is "congratulated" on its diversity.

Re:Results of Rust Survey 2016 – early draft for internal usage by eximius on Thursday June 23, 2016 @10:57AM (#11961395)
Thank you for coherently and politely saying what others have said in... less eloquent terms. I think many people feel this way but find it difficult to express in these contexts without coming off as (or at least being accused of) a bigot or something.

My post above was a super-passive expression of this.

Re:Results of Rust Survey 2016 – early draft for internal usage by alienated on Thursday June 23, 2016 @11:27AM (#11961709)
> but I see no reason to think the diversity of background has any impact on technical contributions

Exactly this. The internet is the great equalizer. There is no need for anyone to know anything about me unless I choose to bring it up.

For a technical project, conducted and run over the internet, my work can stand entirely on its merits in a way that would not be possible in a regular office environment.