Forking and Dongle Jokes Don't Belong At Tech Conferences

Re:Forking and Dongle Jokes Don't Belong At Tech Conferences by Tyrannosaurs on Tuesday March 19, 2013 @05:42AM (#5399817)

I don't want to get into an argument about it because I think you're on the right side of things but the one thing I would say about your assessment is that I think you need to think about how benevolent someone should be in the face of not just a single instance of something happening but continually being subject to this stuff on an on-going basis.

The "we could just code in peace" is fine up until something actually happens (such as people making inappropriate comments) at which point people have to make up their mind what to do about it. Turning the other cheek has, to date, been a remarkably ineffective technique.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Forking and Dongle Jokes Don't Belong At Tech Conferences by Udo on Tuesday March 19, 2013 @05:54AM (#5399865)

I agree with in you principle, but the way this is being handled is simply not designed to alleviate any of the problems. It's sad that the only socially acceptable way of shutting up obnoxiously giggling douchebags during a presentation is by invoking the sex card.

It's true that I have never been to an American tech event and I cede that I can't really know how endemic threatening male group behavior has become in these settings. However, the example at hand does not strike me as such an instance. It may well be the straw that broke the camel's back in the author's case, but on its own this affair just leaves everyone involved in a very bad light.

My instinct is to look at the more basic failures that make situations like these possible, and I listed a few that struck me off the top of my head.

[ Parent | on HN ]