[Techtalk] Politeness and the purpose of Techtalk

[Robyn]

Hi David

It's Robyn here from LinuxSA, and I've been a member here for many years
and found them a haven at times. You know what it's like for newbies on
LinuxSA to ask questions sometimes. I refer any newbies I know to both
groups.

At the moment on Linuxchix there is a person whose behaviour is getting
a bit hard to handle and it is being discussed.

Please join in the discussion with us, tell us what you like about
Linuxchix that has kept you here 2 years and tell us what you don't
like.

Robyn

On Fri, 2004-10-29 at 08:09, David Wolverton wrote:
> Well said/done David,
> 
> Moderator - I am still subscribed to LinuxChix...  Will you please 
> UNSUBSCRIBE me as you stated you would?
> 
> 
> Regards and best wishes,
> David Wolverton
> 
> ---
> David Sumbler wrote:
> > On Thu, 28 Oct 2004, Terri Oda wrote:
> > 
> >> On Oct 28, 2004, at 9:42 AM, Conor Daly wrote:
> >>
> >>> On a related note, should I avoid pointing male newbies at 
> >>> linuxchix.org?
> >>> Given the level of helpfulness here, it seems like such a good resource
> >>> but I don't want to send guys here if they'll discourage the women...
> >>
> >>
> >> Perhaps hold off on referring guys for a bit, at least 'till we've 
> >> re-thought how we want to handle things.  There must be some other 
> >> newbie-friendly places that aren't gender-based -- can anyone 
> >> recommend some that they've liked?
> >>
> >> Responses to this effect should go to grrltalk rather than techtalk.  
> >> I've set the reply-to for this message.
> >>
> >> Also, if those not on grrls-only would like to make further 
> >> comments/suggestions about community behaviours, please post them to 
> >> issues or grrltalk.
> > 
> > 
> > Sorry, I'm not on grrls-only or grrltalk, 'cos I'm not a grrl; I'm not
> > sure what 'issues' is/are, and linuxchix.org seems to be temporarily
> > inaccessible so I can't find out.  So I'm replying here.
> > 
> > If one or two list subscribers have upset some of the others, then
> > that is certainly something that must be dealt with.  But if these one
> > or two happen to be male, then please don't think of penalising all
> > the males on the lists - we're not all neanderthals.  If I'm one of
> > the offenders (which obviously I hope I'm not), then please tell me
> > about it.
> > 
> > It's not impossible that there could some day be a female subscriber
> > who upsets people.  In such a case, you would deal with the particular
> > problem.  Please do the same in this case.
> > 
> > The reasons I subscribe to some of the Linuxchix lists are mostly the
> > same as everyone else's, regardless of sex (or gender, if you prefer):
> > OK, I am not on the receiving end of the "oh, she's only a girl so she
> > must be clueless about computers" attitude, nor are most males likely
> > to talk to me because they think I look or sound attractive.
> > 
> > But I object to the "macho" attitude of quite a few regular
> > contributors to the Linux newgroups, who try to show their superiority
> > by "putting people down" who have asked perfectly genuine questions.
> > And those who try to show their brilliance by "blinding you with
> > science", giving answers which clearly cannot possibly be understood
> > by the person who asked the original question, as well they know.  The
> > poor questioner goes away feeling even more bewildered and 'clueless'
> > than they did before they asked.
> > 
> > I know, I've been on the receiving end of this treatment; then one day
> > I suddenly realized what was going on, and what pathetic idiots these
> > guys are.
> > 
> > That's why I value Linuxchix.  Not because most of you are female, but
> > because of your ethos of trying to be polite, helpful and encouraging.
> > It's sad that it takes a mostly female group to insist on behaviour
> > which, I should have thought, ought to be the norm.  But there it is.
> > 
> > At the same time, I can see that it is just possible that there might
> > be a few female LinuxChix subscribers who actually do not like having
> > answers from males, however well-intentioned.  If that is the case
> > then, in order to be true to the original purpose of LinuxChix, you
> > might just have to ban males from answering queries.  If that is the
> > case, it's a shame, but so be it.  But perhaps we could still be
> > allowed to ask questions?
> > 
> > David
> > 
> 
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