[Techtalk] _The_ HOWTO

[Dave North]

Charlotte:
> Response I gave to that basically said that he brought up a very valid
> point and I pointed out that the HOWTO is not specifically addressed to
> men.

That may cause some confusion. Please note from the howto itself,
subsection Audience (unless some substantive change has been made since I
last referenced it):

> This document is intended mainly for the male Linux enthusiast who would
> like to see more women involved in Linux.

On that point, it appears your comment and the HOWTO are at odds, or
certainly could be interpreted that way by a reasonable reader.

> Absolutely on the mark.  Hopefully I didn't go off the handle in the
> forum.

In my opinion, nope. The stuff posted here looked fine.

But an interesting question arose:

> so why the negative backlash over this article from some men reading it?

I suspect that, when publishing any such document, some difference of
opinion is to be expected. Though I agree with the main emphasis of the
document, I think it flawed in a few major ways as well.
	Anyone who doesn't like the main theme -- that civil and
thoughtful behavior can enrich the linux community -- will find every
possible objection. On the other hand, perfectly reasonable males may have
perfectly legitimate objections as well. And a "comments" section of a web
page is generally seen as an appropriate place to air both those
attitudes (and more) and discuss them ad nauseam.
	Given all this, I'd be much more troubled if I didn't see vigorous
disagreement, some of it stupid. Because, in the end, I'd like to see a
document like this provoke responses from all camps, and engage them in
thoughtful dialog.
	I know there was some discussion of the HOWTO here at LinuxChix,
and probably there are women on this very forum who disagree with parts of
what we see in the HOWTO.
	If that is correct and there are reasonable arguments to find
parts of the document objectionable, it should be anticipated and welcomed
when the larger audience reads it and also finds it a worthwhile topic. It
should also be hoped, and even encouraged, that sincere disagreement may
lead to greater understanding all 'round.
	Then again, looping back to the original question, any jerk can
type. And there's one assertion that, at least, I can prove.


d