I just saw this in Debian Weekly News issue ten:
<http://lists.debian.org/debian-vote/2004/debian-vote-200403/msg00067.html>
I guess I just wonder.
I've never found any sort of hostility or difficulty in dealing with any
technically-oriented online forum; if anything, I've found that some
people seem to go out of their way to respond to women.
Okay, I lie. I've had hostility from a couple of individuals, but I've
*never* attributed it to my female-ness, and in most cases there was
evidence to suggest that they were equal-opportunity flamethrowers =)
Any women out there? Have you found debian and/or other OSS or
technical groups to be difficult, possibly because you're female?
Any guys have opinions?
She seems to be talking about a fear of being put down or treated poorly
for participating in a technical forum. This isn't a fear I've ever
had, but maybe I'm in the minority? I've also heard of women
masquerading as men online to avoid any such questions ... and I've had
women tell me that, in MMORPG type situations, groups tend to follow
their direction much better when they played a male character. Me, I
never cared for playing male characters, so I haven't had a chance to
test that theory.
Just kind of wondering what others think about this. I don't find
debian off-putting, but then, I use vim, so maybe my interpretation of
"userfriendly" is a bit unconventional. I think her suggestion that the
community be aware that the poster may be nervous in the first place is
a good point, regardless of their gender, but putting "woman-friendly!"
on the website would be a bit odd -- although certainly more welcome
than that ridiculous "designed by women" printer (with handle!) or the
"made for women" car with the welded hood ...
Sorry for the rambling ...