-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 Matthew East wrote: > Hi, > > * Caroline Ford: >> On Wed, 2007-05-16 at 08:05 +0100, Matthew East wrote: > >>> 2. When interacting with people on bug reports, I like to know their >>> real name :) >>> >> But you are making people expose real life details about themselves - I >> think launchpad already "requires" this to be taken seriously as a >> contributor. > >> Why should I have to declare I'm a woman (or say a muslim) to contribute >> effectively to Ubuntu? > >> The work done on women in FLOSS suggests that women generally use gender >> neutral nicknames, initials etc to not stand out. In my time on malone >> I've had large photos of random men sent to me and other unrequested >> rubbish. I would never have had that if launchpad had allowed me to be >> "secretlondon" (as I can on wikipedia) without also having to declare >> that I'm also called Caroline.
I've been wondering for a while, as to whether to respond to this thread...I'm not sure what trouble it will cause for me. Being one of the more well known women developers of Ubuntu, and on irc a lot, I face these kind of issues all the time. My take on this is that, by using a real name, and therefore admitting that you're a woman, you're acknowledging that you may get harassed, hit on, etc, as a result. Now, I don't think that launchpad has any right to make that kind of decision for its users. I don't think that anyone has the right to make that kind of decision except the user themselves. Yes, knowing who you're talking to *is* important - UDS is great for this - but it should not happen at the expense of denying someone the above right to stay anonymous. > I'm saddened to hear that women need to use neutral nicknames in order > to contribute to FLOSS. Clearly if someone wishes to remain anonymous > (for whatever reason), that is something that needs to be available to > them. I wouldn't suggest that giving real names become a "requirement" > as opposed to a "guideline". GPG Keys seem to have problems with this - you're required to use your real name in almost all circumstances, as the real name is on your ID. > I'd like to understand more (even if I'm drifting off topic in this part > of the email). Do you feel more comfortable using your real name when > sending emails to public mailing lists than when using Launchpad (for > example)? If so, what's the reason for that? You have to go looking further to get a particular female's email address off a mailing list - whereas on launchpad, if you know their alias, they're far quicker to find - one search away. That being said, i don't have much to say on that particular question. Sarah Hobbs (aka Hobbsee) -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.4.6 (GNU/Linux) Comment: Using GnuPG with Mozilla - http://enigmail.mozdev.org iD8DBQFGT+nz7/o1b30rzoURAgXxAJ4uyP2K0VzlTe7/re2Jm7JBz/PrLgCglqzQ Wp07hztSk0hJrOBaKpZv98g= =glLS -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- -- launchpad-users mailing list [email protected] Modify settings or unsubscribe at: https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/launchpad-users
