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So, "its work to continue," is a misnomer then. It's more accurate to state that other organizations with similar objectives will continue to pursue them even though this organization has bowed-out. It's not like the closing of this organization is directly causing its resources and specific pursuits to be applied post-mortem.

You're correct: their donors and volunteers and supporters won't automatically transfer to another organization, and that this the most unfortunate part of the Ada Initiative shutting down. Hence, I feel compelled to suggest other, like-minded organizations. My personal favorite "best match" is the Anita Borg Institute, but ACM-W or SWE run close seconds (in my mind at least). Indeed, I met "Val Henson", and still have trouble remembering her name change to "Valarie Anita Aurora".... perhaps Val can chime in herself about which charity she would prefer people support, but I'd put money on ABI.

Your point is very valid; however, your ending opens the door to more problems.

The word tolerate (and tolerance) is a double edged sword. It's a bit silly to say we should be intolerant of one subgroup due to their opinions, but we should encourage groups with exclusionary principals like the NBSE, SWE and NOW. The Klan has every bit as much right to peaceably assemble and hold their opinions as the aforementioned groups. They have that right and not to be discriminated against for it according to our current society's rules. That doesn't mean that all of this line drawing from every side helps society as a greater whole.

I agree that this list is insulting. It sure makes me feel like all of those years I spent in graduate school working on my Ph.D. in physics were a total waste. I've been involved in a lot of public outreach projects aimed at improving the visibility of women scientists, but apparently these public outreach programs have not had any effect on the perceptions of the general public.

The person who came up with the CNET list certainly didn't try very hard at all. If they really were interested in creating a list of women who have contributed to mathematics and science, there are a lot of organizations and web sites where they could have found better information. For example:

The Women of NASA
The Society of Women Engineers
The Association of Women in Science
The Committee on Women in Science and Engineering at the National Academies of Science

And of course, there are also many Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) Programs at colleges and universities throughout the United States.

People always wonder why more women do not pursue careers in science and engineering. The persistence of the misconception that only men can be successful in science and engineering, as well as stupid garbage like this list, are definitely not helping. Reading the CNET list made me feel as though women's contributions to science are completely unappreciated. On the other hand, reading some of the Slashdot comments mentioning prominent women who should have been on the list, gives me a little bit of hope that things can change.

1) Linus Torvalds is one hunky piece of gourmet man-candy.
2) Richard M Stallman cannot say "GNU/Linux World" three times fast.
3) This year will feature the first shooting spree in Linux World history.
4) As a result, next year's Linux World will be devoted to the memory of Bill Claybrook of the Aberdeen Group, gunned down while interposing his body between the shooter and the visiting school children from Greater Houlton Christian Academy.
5) This will cause all Linux users to be branded as terrorists, even though the shooter is a disgruntled BSD user, because the authorities don't even know the difference.
6) When MS memos surface planning a publicity stunt / shooting spree at one of their own trade shows, no one will even care.
7) MS has secretly rented a theatre to showcase their line of Linux apps, including a Windows/GUI that runs on top of the Linux kernel.
8) No such products exist. Those entering the theatre will be brainwashed.
9) The Society of Women Engineers is sponsoring a special recruitment event for high school aged future women engineers in my hotel room; any woman aged 15-19 with an interest in pursuing a four year degree in engineering or the applied sciences is welcome to attend. Dress should be informal and not too complicated as I intend to be blasted.
10) Despite the best efforts of the conference organizers, funding was unavailable to spike the drinking water in the hotel with acid. Your generous donations could help make next year's Linux World that much more surreal.
11) Spinal Tap will play a free concert in front of the Expo on the last day. Yes, the volume will be turned all the way up to 11.

• Linux Chix
• Unix Sluts
• Girl Geek
• The Systers Home Page
• For gamers, GameGal.com
• and the slightly more gamer-oriented GameGirlz.com
• and the ever so punk GrrlGamer
• Of course, there's The Society of Women Engineers

This is just with five minute's looking.

As noted above, sometimes private groups can dole out scholarship money without the pesky oversight of the federal government.

The Society of Women Engineers already has a strong program in place, including CS scholarships. They may well be open to a "Slashdot Endowment" to expand their program. Alternatively, youse guys could just give it out yourselves (which would probably be the only way to allow you to limit it to your alma mater). Nothing wrong with a business-supported scholarship (counts as a charitable deduction).