[Linux-aus] An Open Letter to the Open Source Community

[Paul Wayper]

(Previously replied directly, now forwarding to list.)

Bret Busby wrote:

> > Perhpas it may have been helpful to have included a description, or some 
> > other indication, of the "behaviours" of which you complain.
> >   
>   
Why?  Wasn't the letter and the linked PDF report detailed enough?

Rather than say "what am I doing wrong", perhaps it would be helpful for
you to say "what can I do right?"


> > It is one thing to say "there is something rotten in the state of 
> > Denmark", but it is more useful to say what is it.
> >   
>   
One of the issues pointed out in the report is that men implicitly
devalue any attempt to get the community to change by either criticising
how the message deals with the problems.  Your statement is a case in
point here - you've implicitly said that Melissa didn't do her job well
(which, IMO, she did eloquently and amply) because it didn't tell you
exactly what you wanted to hear.  She is pleading for you to listen and
you can't hear because it's not the right words!  To change this, we all
have to be more prepared to go out of our way to understand other
people's points of view.

Another thing the study highlights is that women's belief of what men
think about the open-source community is quite radically different to
what men think they put out.  For instance, 81.2% of men think that
gender doesn't relate to who gets kudos in the F/LOSS world, but 62.5%
of women think that men get more kudos because they're recognised as
male.  Now, they didn't get this impression out of nowhere - we men have
to take full responsibility for implicitly imparting this message in
what we've done.  I know from my own experience that it's bloody hard to
be fair even when I think I'm trying hard!  So we men have to shoulder
the responsibility for this negative attitude and actively seek ways to
improve.  Supporting women when they say "hey, people, we have a problem
here" is the first step in doing this.

Read the report and let us know what you think.

Have fun,

Paul