Re: [Debconf-discuss] DebConf conference policy on profanity

[Ian Jackson <ijackson@chiark.greenend.org.uk>]

Ben Hutchings writes ("Re: [Debconf-discuss] DebConf conference policy on profanity"):
> Biella also tweeted one of her slides in advance of her talk, and I
> pointed out the rule to her then.  I believe she subsequently discussed
> the (considerable) number of quoted expletives in the slides with the
> organisers, and they settled on a content warning at the beginning of
> the talk.

Right.  Her talk (which I found very interesting and illuminating)
raised somewhat different issues.

It would have been impossible for her to deal properly with her
subject matter without quoting (and showing) some of her primary
source materials.  Without that it would have been very hard to get a
proper understanding.

Many of those were very offensive, and if forming part of a talk in
the ordinary way would have been a grievious violation.  The content
warning was IMO an entirely appropriate way of dealing with this
difficulty.

It would have been nice if that had been supplemented by a warning in
the programme, but most people would have probably heard of the
community which was the subject matter of her talk and realised that
such an anthropological report would necessarily involve presenting
and analysing some very egregious material.

Thanks,
Ian.