Steve, I'm sorry to mention this, but a few weeks ago you mocked someone's repo on Twitter. Incidentally, that person happened to be a woman.
The personal attacks on Adria (death threats and all) are disgusting, but they're not the kind of thing that keeps women away from tech. It's the small discouragements, like the one you did when you mocked a stranger's repo (probably without knowing her gender) that keep women from thriving in tech.
I'm really sorry for the ad hominem/tu quoque, but if you want to make tech a better field for women, you have to make some adjustments that can make it better for non-heterosexual people, people with disabilities, foreigners, etc...
It's not enough to be open for women in tech: we should strive to be friendly to people who don't have the same level of proficiency, people with different tastes and opinions, and strangers.
It's not a kid with a DDoS tool and a fake Twitter account who makes a women avoid a career in STEM. It's a well-meaning technologist accidentally being an asshole (http://blog.steveklabnik.com/posts/2013-01-23-node).
The shit last week absolutely scared some people. Some of us are steeled to get even louder because of it, but others were seriously considering being less visible or even dropping out. I'm not sure what the long-term effects will look like, only time will tell, but it absolutely negatively affected people in the tech industry.
As for Steve (and the others involved in the incident you mentioned), what they did was shitty. Behavior like that can have serious negative consequences as well. I was pretty pissed when that happened, and I really hope it's a mistake they won't make again (and if they do, they'll be getting an earful). However as far as I recall, the offending parties did apologize when called out.
We all fuck up, myself included. Apologies don't make everything better, but it's a world above people making death threats. I value allies who occasionally fuck up that I can call out on their shit over people who are regularly assholes and have no introspection when I call them on it. I've known both. The former has generally provided me with a support system. The latter has just tried to tear me down (see examples in my post).
Absolutely agreed on helping more than women.When I speak about personal experiences, they're mostly about women because that's my lived experience, but I am very much for helping a variety of people. Those who know me recognize me by my catchphrase, "MY TECHNOLOGY WILL BE INTERSECTIONAL OR IT WILL BE BULLSHIT!"
I'm not referring to the men, I'm referring to the reaction to her.
I had to report accounts to Twitter for sending her pictures of decapitated women, and posting her home address.
As for that other situation, as you say, actions speak louder than words. I personally feel that the pluses are bigger than the minuses here, but this thread isn't about me.
Arguable Steve's actions would keep any novice out of tech, regardless of body parts. Which is a fairly plausible scenario since he didn't know her gender, as he said (I think). Important: Not saying she is a novice.
I think the number of edits you had to just make to prevent your comment from being potentially offensive makes my point that you're all being weirdly oversensitive internet white knights.
I've been conditioned to avoid fights that I don't feel like fighting in this industry. That's coupled with a pretty good knack for how someone is going to read a comment (but I failed elsewhere in this thread, if you look for name). Not sure that makes me a white knight.
The personal attacks on Adria (death threats and all) are disgusting, but they're not the kind of thing that keeps women away from tech. It's the small discouragements, like the one you did when you mocked a stranger's repo (probably without knowing her gender) that keep women from thriving in tech.
I'm really sorry for the ad hominem/tu quoque, but if you want to make tech a better field for women, you have to make some adjustments that can make it better for non-heterosexual people, people with disabilities, foreigners, etc...
It's not enough to be open for women in tech: we should strive to be friendly to people who don't have the same level of proficiency, people with different tastes and opinions, and strangers.
It's not a kid with a DDoS tool and a fake Twitter account who makes a women avoid a career in STEM. It's a well-meaning technologist accidentally being an asshole (http://blog.steveklabnik.com/posts/2013-01-23-node).
Actions trump words.