[IndiChix] Request for interview...

[VidA]

On Fri, May 30, 2008 at 1:28 PM, Frederick Noronha [फ़रेदरिक नोरोनया]
<fred at bytesforall.org> wrote:
>
> 1. What's the history of LinuxChix-India?

It was started by Archana Raghupathy (Archana, please correct me if
your last name is incorrect) from Chennai in 2005.


> 2. How well has it been doing?
> 3. What have been its significant successes, and limitations?

Success is a relative term and people use different yardsticks to
measure it. In my experience people in India are aware of Linuxchix
but may not know all the women in the Indian community.
http://linuxchix.org.in/wiki/index.php/LCPeopleTalkpage, should be a
good starting point for getting to know the women behind LinuxChix
India.


> 4. Why, in your view, is the women-participation level so low for FLOSS?

Kadambari gave a very accurate analysis so without echoing the
pertinent points :

I feel, the lack of infrastructure, computer access also plays some
role. Most boys who dont own computers would use a friends machine but
girls in India would not have the freedom to stay late at a friends
place to hack away.


> 5. What can be done to improve this?

- Ask MNC's, as part of their CSR activities to sponsor small labs in
their office premises which should be open to any woman to use/learn.
These Free computer labs should be equipped with machines and an
Internet connection which would enable local FSF volunteers to
introduce and teach them packaging, translation, bug-squashing, etc...

- Increasing activity and participation in local LUG meetings.


> 6. Do you think guys are subconsciously or consciously exclusivist or
> 'old boys clubish' in their approach?

Depends ... Maybe this would vary for each country but largely the
entry level (free software usage, volunteering, etc..) is easy if you
know what you want to do. Also most men i've met so far appreciate the
extra efforts put to cross that Linux-learning-curve :). However today
its a lot more difficult to be sexist and the existence of
floss-women's groups makes it tough to get away with negative
behavior, at least not openly on many lists and irc channels.


> 7. Can you site some experiences (even without names, if needed) that
> your memebers and or friends have been trhough while trying to
> understand, and master, technology? I mean offputting negative
> examples that would illustrate the point?

Back when i started online revealing one's gender meant the usual
picture requests or maybe personal questions after a few mails under
the guise of volunteering, but I doubt if it will happen to a woman
today.
One suggestion i remember vividly .... as a newbie user, it was an
off-list reply to my question to the list, where i was told to provide
this person root access and he would tunnel in and solve my problem
pronto. lol !!



> 8. Do you think that it's tougher for a woman to master FLOSS or not?
> Why? Any three reasons for your answer?
> 9. What are the challenges before FLOSS in India if it is to see, say,
> a 50% women participation rate? Is this at all possible?

.. been answered !


> 10 With a name like LinuxChix, in a context like India, does it make
> people misunderstand the group (I mean, chix might seem a bit
> frivolous, though I know the intent is not).

Personally, I like the solid positive work behind the name, and prefer
to concentrate on helping solve bigger problems --- trying to get a
50% presence for one is a nice challenge :), more Indian women
contributing to upstream projects, etc... , but that's my opinion!


> 11 I know you'll include guys in your group (I am a member too). Why?

why not? .....do you think LCIN should exclude men?


> 12 Do you believe that same-gender learning environments (e.g. women
> alone) might help women to master FLOSS easier?

This largely depends on the cities/towns you plan to target for
spreading the word. Not sure but down south I've seen more girls
colleges so maybe that is the preferred learning environment. I
dislike segregated environments but if its quite common and the
preferred system then those interested will gravitate towards it,
which is just fine. Each to his/her own. I'd rather concentrate on
increasing the Libre software usage and contribution than dwell on
irrelevant things.


> 13 Lastly tell us something about your group, membership size,
> priorities, focus, etc.

Hmm... do you need mailing list numbers? Rather than just quoting
numbers (and no I'd rather not hazard a guess email id's based on
gender :)) I'd rather see you highlighting the work the women are
doing, quietly.  Maybe introduce this group to women you know for
starters !


> 14 Anything else you'd like to add.

I am aware that you work independently but it would be nice if you can
share the article with us later or provide a link and feel free to add
it to our wiki pages at http://www.linuxchix.org.in , after you create
an account.


> Thanks so much. And even 1-2 para replies to each would be fine. With
> best wishes for all your initiatives, FN

thanks for the wishes !

As for the intro, I'm Vidya Ayer, who stumbled into the Libre software
domain (thanks to google's strange ways back then ... 1999, iirc), via
a FSF developer who insisted that i learn to install Linux before i
volunteer :-/ and the word "disaster" explains my initial attempts.
Its been a self-taught learning experience thanks to all the online
manuals/docs/tutorials, lists, etc... I started off volunteering with
: dmoz.org and wikipedia communities, then linuxchix and ...
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Svaksha , has the details.

-- 
Vid
|| http://www.svaksha.com ||