I'm confused...

I'm confused...

Okay, now I'm confused. I really don't want to offend Val or otherwise say anything offensive or inappropriate. I kind of remember a discussion on LWN a year or two ago, about Val and Val's gender identity, which got out of hand. Lots of hurtful and insensitive comments flying around. But, PLEASE let's not revisit that ordeal.

That being said, I don't care about Val's gender identity or sex - Val certainly contributes to the Linux community with Val's blog, and Val's latest entry seems to indicate that the public has an unclear or distorted perception of Linux (and its community).

Granted, Hans Reiser's recent histrionics on the stand (causing the judge to chuckle, etc.) likely makes him relatively more newsworthy in the San Francisco Bay area - in other words, people are perhaps more likely to recognize Reiser's name (or have the associated thought/idea of Linux pop into their memories) during casual conversation (as Val's property manager's reaction would seem to indicate).

I had a brain blip and referred to her as "Valerie Whatsername" during a session at LCA this
year, only to discover that she was sitting two seats away... now that's embarrassing.  The
funny thing is that you'd think I couldn't possibly forget her surname, because I'm a huge fan
of the late Jim Henson (no relation)!