Loaded terms in free software

Posted Jun 22, 2020 16:23 UTC (Mon) by milesrout (subscriber, #126894)
In reply to: Loaded terms in free software by nix
Parent article: Loaded terms in free software

Free software is and always has been, like anywhere else on the internet, a fantastically liberal community and a community that harbours misfits of all shapes and types. Being known by purely a pseudonym with no skin colour or gender or other characteristics associated with it is very levelling. There's really no basis on which to be sexist in the first place. I've never seen anyone be racist or sexist on IRC or over email. The only place I've ever seen it is on the newfangled platforms with their social media aspects like Twitter and GitHub. And those platforms are *all* full of sexist racist crap because social media is an inherent evil.

When the ardent Twitter/GitHub/social media types turn up and are expected to actually write some code instead of their entire contribution being a 'code of conduct', they get treated like the twerps that they are. And then they call that sexist, because people disagreeing with their cultural imperialism is sexist now.

Thankfully you can basically avoid them entirely by just staying away from social media. If you avoid using GitHub as much as possible you should be fine. And obviously never create a Twitter, as that's literally the worst thing ever to happen to the internet and *everyone* knows it.

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Loaded terms in free software

Posted Jun 22, 2020 17:58 UTC (Mon) by mjg59 (subscriber, #23239) [Link] (3 responses)

People whose identity is perceived as non-male are treated very differently in most free software communities. So what you mean by "There's really no basis on which to be sexist in the first place" is "People can present as male in order to be treated the same as everyone else", which still means they're subject to the use of sexist language and imagery and also means they're never able to tie that identity to scenarios where their real identity *does* matter, such as conferences or job applications.

Loaded terms in free software

Posted Jun 22, 2020 19:19 UTC (Mon) by nix (subscriber, #2304) [Link]

So what you mean by "There's really no basis on which to be sexist in the first place" is "People can present as male in order to be treated the same as everyone else"

That doesn't necessarily work, anyway. Those of us who are unlucky enough to project something a predatory human sees as "vulnerable/victim" will be attacked anyway. Gender and race are just two of a great many perceived axes they're willing to attack you on. Being different in any way at all is enough -- and if you're not different, they'll invent a difference to create a suitable outgroup.

Been there, had that happen...

Loaded terms in free software

Posted Jun 22, 2020 20:46 UTC (Mon) by milesrout (subscriber, #126894) [Link] (1 responses)

Acting like a normal human being isn't "acting male" any more than it is "acting white"... You seem to be RATHER confused.

Loaded terms in free software

Posted Jun 22, 2020 21:00 UTC (Mon) by mjg59 (subscriber, #23239) [Link]

If you have a name that people interpret as female on IRC, you'll have a very different experience to if you have a name that people interpret as male. Is using your real name acting like a normal human being?

Loaded terms in free software

Posted Jun 22, 2020 19:16 UTC (Mon) by nix (subscriber, #2304) [Link]

I find this impossible to believe from anyone who's spent even five minutes on a crowded IRC server:

I've never seen anyone be racist or sexist on IRC or over email.

I saw my first crude sexist joke perhaps ten minutes after joining my first IRC channel on a public server. Perhaps you're just incapable of spotting them, or spending all your time on work servers or servers with hardly any people on them?