[Linux-aus] Some Anti-Harassment Policies considered harmful

[Melissa Draper]

On Mon, 2011-01-31 at 22:43 +1100, Russell Coker wrote:
> On Mon, 31 Jan 2011, Melissa Draper <melissa at meldraweb.com> wrote:
> > This is a bad example. There were several people, and not just women,
> > getting quite annoyed at certain other people taking photos of them
> > despite being asked to stop. Repeatedly asked to stop in some cases.
> 
> Do you think that we need a stronger policy or just more enforcement in this 
> regard?

I don't think the policy needs to be more explicit. If someone has said
stop and you don't, then really, the problem is already failing to be
solved by a document.

> http://www.autscape.org/experience/autisticneeds
> 
> The above URL has background information on the Autscape conference where 
> anyone who doesn't want to be photographed can wear a black circle to 
> demonstrate that fact (which would be useful for people who have difficulty in 
> asking others to stop).
> 
> So it's obvious that this issue doesn't just relate to LCA and doesn't just 
> relate to women.  It also seems clear that the policy is not too strict.


There was some independent discussion of this marker idea. I'm not sure
it would have helped with the incidents I was witness to though.

The situation that some people have difficulty asking here isn't the
issue with what I saw this year. The problem is on the other side of the
communication. The photographers in question were told explicitly to
"stop" and "go away" but seem to have goldfish memories. I suspect
they'd forget what the black circle is for.

That said, I see no real reason to refrain from trying it. A sticker
perhaps? And if we're going with an opt-out model, people need to be
able to opt out at any time.

It would certainly be worthwhile for people who *do* have difficulty
opting out for whatever reason. And that certainly isn't something
unique to women. Nor radical.