This reminds me of the joke argument that people make about having their minds erased after hearing music because remembering the song is a form of copying.
Tabs on OLGA aren't from published sheet music, they're written by people learning to play the song by ear. (And, they're usually wrong, in my experience)
What's better, censored information or no information? If you want to do business in China, or any other country, you do so at the whim of the government. It's not like you can have an uncensored site. You either have a censored site, or no site at all.
I'll be glad when they start banning carry-on luggage completely. It seems like an hour of every flight is spent just getting people on and off the plane, and this is because of people having to get on, one by one, and stuff their shit in the overhead bins, blocking the aisle so nobody else can get ahead.
Then, when you get off, you end up with the same situation in reverse. It shouldn't take more than five minutes to load/unload a plane.
Oddly enough, I bought a Macbook Pro right when it came out, and I haven't had a SINGLE problem with it. (other than one software issue with Airport authentication.)
My Powerbook Al 15" however, bought at the end of the product lifecycle, is a piece of crap. The power cable doesn't work anymore. The hard drive crashed. The latch doesn't work. The display has white spots all over it, and the serial number is not covered under the recall. The battery was replaced under the recall, however. The surface next to the mousepad has worn off. The display is bowed (it always was, even when it was new, apparently this is on purpose, though). I've put up with the accumulating problems for the year and a half i've had it, not wanting to be without a laptop, but the hard drive crash and power connection not working anymore made it completely useless, so I bought a Macbook pro so I can take it in for repair at applecare.
Totally understood, but they should pay to support these test subjects.
They already paid them $4000. You're still less likely to be injured by participating in a drug study than you are by working in a factory for a few months for the same amount of money.
We've always been headed towards a police state. The natural tendency of any government is to assume more power, not less. The same force works in a democracy as it does in a dictatorship, the majority will follow this tendency to assume more power over the minority. It proceeds through three "tipping points" that eventually lead to societal collapse.
The rub is, that at this point in the development of our society, the minority has no realistic, effective way to counteract the power of the majority, so the majority will increasingly accumulate power, unfettered. This represents the first tipping point, which we have certainly passed.
However, as the majority accumulates power, the majority also decreases, as segments of the controlling majority fall into the minority, as groups of majority individuals feel the majority is "crossing the line". This represents the second tipping point, which if has not been passed, is certainly close to passing, and the number of people who feel the "majority government" is crossing the line is certainly increasing.
Unfortunately, at this point, if the new controlling minority (the previous majority) has accumulated significant resources to ensure their dominance over the new majority (which they most certainly have), then an increasingly controlling, dwindling minority of individuals will assert increasing amounts of control over an increasing majority. The fourth tipping point occurs when the sheer numbers of the majority can counteract the consolidated resources of the minority. This tipping point is almost certainly distant in the future if it happens, and the result is popular rebellion.
Although, with increases in technology, the number of individuals required to support a dwindling majority has become lower. The need for a large infantry (which requires some amount of popular support), and killing of dissenters - which drastically increases opposition to the minority (through the use of "nonlethal weapons" - imagine if every street riot in the past couple decades had involved mass slaughter of protesters rather than tear gas and rubber bullets), has been markedly reduced.
This, I think, is the major difference between now, and any other point in history. Uprisings can be quelled with nonlethal weapons. The most important aspect of nonlethal weapons is that they effectively control dissent with a minimal effect on the perception of suppression.
If everyone assumed you were a girl online, and you weren't, and you didn't want to pass as one, wouldn't you get irritated?
There is a concrete difference between actively passing as a member of the opposite sex and the issue not coming up. In any social forum, it's usually not long. I never had a problem with women correcting an assumption that they were male, it's when they immediately emphasize it, usually expecting special attention, that is irritating. It's the same difference between being "openly gay" and a "flaming queer". There's a difference between wearing something as a badge and acknowledging it as a matter of fact.
I see plenty of people with masculine names, such as "Lord", or "Mike". Heck, even your "Senator" could be taken for masculine.
I didn't say it doesn't happen, but it's definitely disproportionate. And, as far as "Senator" is concerned, 14% of senators are women, a lot more than programmers!
Why should I expect that a male WOULD with me because I have a female nick?
Because that's what males do. As unfortunate as it may be, it's a part of our society. And as much as people like to say that men are naturally aggressive, it's bullshit. Men HAVE to be aggressive because it's the only way to find out it a woman is interested. I don't know of any who actually enjoy trying to meet women. When I can go to a bar and have women come up and buy me drinks, point will be taken. If there was a similar expectation that women would pursue men the same way that men were expected to pursue women, there wouldn't be a problem to begin with - the lack of pursuit would be enough to indicate disinterest.
Basically, it's a respect thing.
I'd think you would know better, reading slashdot. The lack of respect has nothing to do with sexism. When I'm discussing an idea with a guy at work, I will readily say "That's fucking stupid," if I think the idea is stupid. The guy will take that as meaning that I think the idea is stupid, but it seems that women will take that as meaning "You're stupid because you're a woman, and he swore." It's not so much a lack of respect as it is the lack for the need to spare feelings. I've heard this argument made in a different context, as to why women "don't offer ideas in classes because they feel intimidated by men." It has nothing to do with being intimidated by men, and everything to do with being intimidated by being embarrassed. It goes back to the aggression thing. By having to make the moves on women, men get used to public humiliation and rejection on a regular basis. Honesty is never anyone's fault, but the inability to accept criticism is.
I think most people in technical fields notice that a much greater percentage of PEOPLE from Asia and Eastern Europe seem to be interested in science and engineering.
I'm in chemistry. The male/female ratio for american students is more equal than the american/foreign ratio. From what i've seen, US culture has a definite negative attitude towards these fields for BOTH males and females (only "losers" do them). You don't see a lot of Asians and Europeans taking bullshit liberal arts majors. Their cultures actually respect achievement, people aren't immediately dismissed as losers for displaying intelligence.
I have no concrete ideas how to go about this but feel very strongly about this issue. Any suggestions?
Yeah, fuck 'em if they can't take a joke.
I've made way too many posts on this article, but the general point is that it's way more important in the long run for women to stop being so offended over any mention of sex than it is for men to stop saying anything offensive. Seriously. It's their problem, not ours.
In fact, that's a way more feminist position to say that women shouldn't be so offended by off-color remarks than saying an overwhelmingly male community (FOSS) should coddle women to make them feel better.
In my field, at work, there are just as many women as men around. I generally don't associate with the women, for the sole reason that I already have a girlfriend, and it's boring talking to other women because they get so offended by my off-color remarks that every guy at work finds hilarious.
In short, the problem isn't that there aren't enough women in whatever. The problem is that women don't appreciate a good fart joke when they hear one.
it's really very irritating to make a post with a nick that's obviously female like mine and get some nitwit going, "Liar! You're not a girl, you're a 40 old man in your parents' basement!" or "Show me your boobies!" or whatever.
What is up with women choosing nicks that emphasize that they are female and complaining when guys comment?
I don't see a lot of guys choosing nicks that point out they're male.
I've found the best way for women to be accepted, at least on IRC, is to not announce being female. In fact, I seriously get irritated by women on IRC, because 90% of the time, they make it a severe point that EVERYONE must know they are female, and then they get offended when guys want to fuck them. Choosing a gender neutral nick (like, oh, let me look.. 95% of the people on the channel i'm on right now), and just being a regular without demanding immediate attention for having a vagina without any previous impression, if they find out your female you'll be accepted.
Being a text-based medium, things have different impacts. Choosing an overtly feminine nick and immediately announcing being female is the real-life equivalent of wearing pasties. Don't get offended when guys start stuffing dollar bills in your panties.
My experience is that most geeks are shy guys who would do almost anything to get the attention of a normal girl.
I've been seeing a lot of posts in this article about how insensitive, sexist, offensive, and rude the posts are here towards women. And, I'll bet that in real life, the people who wrote them are exactly like you describe. It's probably just compensation.
That being said, all those guys should seriously consider how much it would suck if there were women all over the place here. They'd have no outlet.
I suspect that a number of women have tried to get involved, but been repulsed by the community. Look at this Slashdot article; the first post was a comment asking for pictures. Now, as someone who has been around Slashdot for a while, I can be fairly sure that this was meant in jest, but this is exactly the kind of thing that would make a woman interested in joining the community leave.
Yeah. Slashdot would be fucking boring if we had to tailor all our banter to not offend women. Men that actually have opportunities to meet women usually do these sorts of things (playing with computers, fixing cars, golfing), to GET AWAY from women.
Interesting that the programming field was originally almost exclusively comprised of women.
Nothing can be done about the current situation, though. The community now is comprised of men who have for a large part had very little exposure to women, and don't know how to not offend them.
And, maybe it's just another sexist thing to say, but women get offended way too easily. Most guys at work regularly insult each other far worse than I've ever heard a guy insult a woman. It's just joking around. Women don't seem to appreciate the cleverness of a good insult, though.
Unfortunately, I have a lot of women where I work, and it's not as great as it sounds. You're always having to look over your shoulders before you say anything.
Nobody would dare to make sexist jokes about male programmers!
I hear them all the time. They usually go in the opposite direction, about how they're all losers that can't get laid.
The best way to get women to is to point out that if they get involved with FOSS, they WILL get laid with no effort, no matter how repulsive they are, just due to the odds.
But a system based on popular vote just marginalizes the people who live in less-populated areas.
Not true - a vote in a less-populated area would be equal to a vote in a populated area. Of course, for this sort of reform to occur, the people in less-populated areas with currently disproportionate representation would have to allow this, which they obviously won't, so the point is moot.
Also, in case any of you were wondering, yeah, the song is fucking horrible. i just listened long enough to hear how they worked in the name and couldn't stand it anymore. they did do a good job of dubbing it in though, sounds almost like it belonged in the song. I almost want to buy more with the most ridiculous/hard to sing in a sultry way names...
Slashdot Mirror
This reminds me of the joke argument that people make about having their minds erased after hearing music because remembering the song is a form of copying.
Tabs on OLGA aren't from published sheet music, they're written by people learning to play the song by ear. (And, they're usually wrong, in my experience)
Their information collection can't be that effective, because I usually get recommendations for books that I've already bought from them.
What's better, censored information or no information? If you want to do business in China, or any other country, you do so at the whim of the government. It's not like you can have an uncensored site. You either have a censored site, or no site at all.
Why would you put your laptop and ipod in the overhead bins? When I bring mine, I use them on the plane.
I'll be glad when they start banning carry-on luggage completely. It seems like an hour of every flight is spent just getting people on and off the plane, and this is because of people having to get on, one by one, and stuff their shit in the overhead bins, blocking the aisle so nobody else can get ahead.
Then, when you get off, you end up with the same situation in reverse. It shouldn't take more than five minutes to load/unload a plane.
I never knew Herbert Hoover was a crossdresser! You learn something new every day on slashdot.
Oddly enough, I bought a Macbook Pro right when it came out, and I haven't had a SINGLE problem with it. (other than one software issue with Airport authentication.)
My Powerbook Al 15" however, bought at the end of the product lifecycle, is a piece of crap. The power cable doesn't work anymore. The hard drive crashed. The latch doesn't work. The display has white spots all over it, and the serial number is not covered under the recall. The battery was replaced under the recall, however. The surface next to the mousepad has worn off. The display is bowed (it always was, even when it was new, apparently this is on purpose, though). I've put up with the accumulating problems for the year and a half i've had it, not wanting to be without a laptop, but the hard drive crash and power connection not working anymore made it completely useless, so I bought a Macbook pro so I can take it in for repair at applecare.
Totally understood, but they should pay to support these test subjects.
They already paid them $4000. You're still less likely to be injured by participating in a drug study than you are by working in a factory for a few months for the same amount of money.
We've always been headed towards a police state. The natural tendency of any government is to assume more power, not less. The same force works in a democracy as it does in a dictatorship, the majority will follow this tendency to assume more power over the minority. It proceeds through three "tipping points" that eventually lead to societal collapse.
The rub is, that at this point in the development of our society, the minority has no realistic, effective way to counteract the power of the majority, so the majority will increasingly accumulate power, unfettered. This represents the first tipping point, which we have certainly passed.
However, as the majority accumulates power, the majority also decreases, as segments of the controlling majority fall into the minority, as groups of majority individuals feel the majority is "crossing the line". This represents the second tipping point, which if has not been passed, is certainly close to passing, and the number of people who feel the "majority government" is crossing the line is certainly increasing.
Unfortunately, at this point, if the new controlling minority (the previous majority) has accumulated significant resources to ensure their dominance over the new majority (which they most certainly have), then an increasingly controlling, dwindling minority of individuals will assert increasing amounts of control over an increasing majority. The fourth tipping point occurs when the sheer numbers of the majority can counteract the consolidated resources of the minority. This tipping point is almost certainly distant in the future if it happens, and the result is popular rebellion.
Although, with increases in technology, the number of individuals required to support a dwindling majority has become lower. The need for a large infantry (which requires some amount of popular support), and killing of dissenters - which drastically increases opposition to the minority (through the use of "nonlethal weapons" - imagine if every street riot in the past couple decades had involved mass slaughter of protesters rather than tear gas and rubber bullets), has been markedly reduced.
This, I think, is the major difference between now, and any other point in history. Uprisings can be quelled with nonlethal weapons. The most important aspect of nonlethal weapons is that they effectively control dissent with a minimal effect on the perception of suppression.
Interesting that you mentioned 3 of the films that have my interest: Scanner Darkly, Illusionist, and Inland Empire will all be a must-see, for me.
Better hurry up. A Scanner Darkly is already out of the theaters here (Rochester, NY).
I didn't watch it last week because I have a PhD qualifying exam this Friday. I was going to see it after the exam. Shit.
But the deep-seated taboo against inbreeding is there for a reason, I agree with it,
What about a movie about gay incest, then?
But I guess someone is watching these rehashes, because Hollywood keeps making them.
It's a business. The blame lies squarely on the public who watch the movies. If people stopped paying to watch crap, they'd stop making it.
As Jay Sherman already said years ago, "Just don't go."
If everyone assumed you were a girl online, and you weren't, and you didn't want to pass as one, wouldn't you get irritated?
There is a concrete difference between actively passing as a member of the opposite sex and the issue not coming up. In any social forum, it's usually not long. I never had a problem with women correcting an assumption that they were male, it's when they immediately emphasize it, usually expecting special attention, that is irritating. It's the same difference between being "openly gay" and a "flaming queer". There's a difference between wearing something as a badge and acknowledging it as a matter of fact.
I see plenty of people with masculine names, such as "Lord", or "Mike". Heck, even your "Senator" could be taken for masculine.
I didn't say it doesn't happen, but it's definitely disproportionate. And, as far as "Senator" is concerned, 14% of senators are women, a lot more than programmers!
Why should I expect that a male WOULD with me because I have a female nick?
Because that's what males do. As unfortunate as it may be, it's a part of our society. And as much as people like to say that men are naturally aggressive, it's bullshit. Men HAVE to be aggressive because it's the only way to find out it a woman is interested. I don't know of any who actually enjoy trying to meet women. When I can go to a bar and have women come up and buy me drinks, point will be taken. If there was a similar expectation that women would pursue men the same way that men were expected to pursue women, there wouldn't be a problem to begin with - the lack of pursuit would be enough to indicate disinterest.
Basically, it's a respect thing.
I'd think you would know better, reading slashdot. The lack of respect has nothing to do with sexism. When I'm discussing an idea with a guy at work, I will readily say "That's fucking stupid," if I think the idea is stupid. The guy will take that as meaning that I think the idea is stupid, but it seems that women will take that as meaning "You're stupid because you're a woman, and he swore." It's not so much a lack of respect as it is the lack for the need to spare feelings. I've heard this argument made in a different context, as to why women "don't offer ideas in classes because they feel intimidated by men." It has nothing to do with being intimidated by men, and everything to do with being intimidated by being embarrassed. It goes back to the aggression thing. By having to make the moves on women, men get used to public humiliation and rejection on a regular basis. Honesty is never anyone's fault, but the inability to accept criticism is.
I think most people in technical fields notice that a much greater percentage of PEOPLE from Asia and Eastern Europe seem to be interested in science and engineering.
I'm in chemistry. The male/female ratio for american students is more equal than the american/foreign ratio. From what i've seen, US culture has a definite negative attitude towards these fields for BOTH males and females (only "losers" do them). You don't see a lot of Asians and Europeans taking bullshit liberal arts majors. Their cultures actually respect achievement, people aren't immediately dismissed as losers for displaying intelligence.
I have no concrete ideas how to go about this but feel very strongly about this issue. Any suggestions?
Yeah, fuck 'em if they can't take a joke.
I've made way too many posts on this article, but the general point is that it's way more important in the long run for women to stop being so offended over any mention of sex than it is for men to stop saying anything offensive. Seriously. It's their problem, not ours.
In fact, that's a way more feminist position to say that women shouldn't be so offended by off-color remarks than saying an overwhelmingly male community (FOSS) should coddle women to make them feel better.
In my field, at work, there are just as many women as men around. I generally don't associate with the women, for the sole reason that I already have a girlfriend, and it's boring talking to other women because they get so offended by my off-color remarks that every guy at work finds hilarious.
In short, the problem isn't that there aren't enough women in whatever. The problem is that women don't appreciate a good fart joke when they hear one.
it's really very irritating to make a post with a nick that's obviously female like mine and get some nitwit going, "Liar! You're not a girl, you're a 40 old man in your parents' basement!" or "Show me your boobies!" or whatever.
What is up with women choosing nicks that emphasize that they are female and complaining when guys comment?
I don't see a lot of guys choosing nicks that point out they're male.
I've found the best way for women to be accepted, at least on IRC, is to not announce being female. In fact, I seriously get irritated by women on IRC, because 90% of the time, they make it a severe point that EVERYONE must know they are female, and then they get offended when guys want to fuck them. Choosing a gender neutral nick (like, oh, let me look.. 95% of the people on the channel i'm on right now), and just being a regular without demanding immediate attention for having a vagina without any previous impression, if they find out your female you'll be accepted.
Being a text-based medium, things have different impacts. Choosing an overtly feminine nick and immediately announcing being female is the real-life equivalent of wearing pasties. Don't get offended when guys start stuffing dollar bills in your panties.
My experience is that most geeks are shy guys who would do almost anything to get the attention of a normal girl.
I've been seeing a lot of posts in this article about how insensitive, sexist, offensive, and rude the posts are here towards women. And, I'll bet that in real life, the people who wrote them are exactly like you describe. It's probably just compensation.
That being said, all those guys should seriously consider how much it would suck if there were women all over the place here. They'd have no outlet.
The rest of your comment makes sense, but what is 'a woman's touch' on software?
Rather than error messages having an "OK" button, there would be a input box where you could talk about how you feel about the error.
I suspect that a number of women have tried to get involved, but been repulsed by the community. Look at this Slashdot article; the first post was a comment asking for pictures. Now, as someone who has been around Slashdot for a while, I can be fairly sure that this was meant in jest, but this is exactly the kind of thing that would make a woman interested in joining the community leave.
Yeah. Slashdot would be fucking boring if we had to tailor all our banter to not offend women. Men that actually have opportunities to meet women usually do these sorts of things (playing with computers, fixing cars, golfing), to GET AWAY from women.
Interesting that the programming field was originally almost exclusively comprised of women.
Nothing can be done about the current situation, though. The community now is comprised of men who have for a large part had very little exposure to women, and don't know how to not offend them.
And, maybe it's just another sexist thing to say, but women get offended way too easily. Most guys at work regularly insult each other far worse than I've ever heard a guy insult a woman. It's just joking around. Women don't seem to appreciate the cleverness of a good insult, though.
Unfortunately, I have a lot of women where I work, and it's not as great as it sounds. You're always having to look over your shoulders before you say anything.
Nobody would dare to make sexist jokes about male programmers!
I hear them all the time. They usually go in the opposite direction, about how they're all losers that can't get laid.
The best way to get women to is to point out that if they get involved with FOSS, they WILL get laid with no effort, no matter how repulsive they are, just due to the odds.
So what? There are less people there, so they deserve less attention.
But a system based on popular vote just marginalizes the people who live in less-populated areas.
Not true - a vote in a less-populated area would be equal to a vote in a populated area. Of course, for this sort of reform to occur, the people in less-populated areas with currently disproportionate representation would have to allow this, which they obviously won't, so the point is moot.
Also, in case any of you were wondering, yeah, the song is fucking horrible. i just listened long enough to hear how they worked in the name and couldn't stand it anymore. they did do a good job of dubbing it in though, sounds almost like it belonged in the song. I almost want to buy more with the most ridiculous/hard to sing in a sultry way names...
"i'm looking at you, LARRY"
or Buttahman?!
Yeah. If you added up the total capacity of ipods sold and translated it into 99 cent tracks, apple would be the largest corporation in the world.
Of course, I just pulled that statistic out of my ass, but I bet it's true.