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These are simply the most recent users who have signed up, and unfortunately the the HN demographic is pretty male...

by _andychung 6y ago

camdenlock 6y ago
“Unfortunately”. What a ridiculous culture we’ve built if this sentiment is widely accepted. Just bizarre.
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
- ska 6y ago
  Nothing bizarre about it; Diverse viewpoints tend to strengthen a community, so considering it unfortunate that HN doesn't benefit from a broader demographic distribution is pretty defensible.
  - camdenlock 6y ago
    By that logic, it would be sensible to lament that, say, a particular daycare is staffed entirely by women, or that a particular ice hockey team is made up entirely of white men. Sometimes groups of humans coalesce these ways, and there’s nothing wrong or unfortunate about it. No intervention requested or required. If you want to champion diversity of viewpoints, that’s a different matter entirely, and such conditions may be desirable, depending on the wants & needs of the group in question. Take these things on a case-by-case basis. Don’t reach for top-down governance as a panacea when such a thing is neither requested nor required.
    - ska 6y ago
      > By that logic, it would be sensible to lament that, say, a particular daycare is staffed entirely by women, or that This is a non-sequitur; neither of those are communities in the sense under discussion. I'll agree that there are some cases where a lack of diversity doesn't indicate any weakness in the community, but that is not the general case. I don't know why you are bringing "intervention" into the discussion as I did not, nor did the OP. And who said anything about top-down governance? I noted only that the case for more diversity in HN is quite defensible, and it obviously is. NB I didn't claim it was correct, just defensible which is a pretty low bar. So beyond "bizarre" being an overreach (ironically, verging on bizarre even before the ex post facto introduction of intervention, etc.), this is exactly the case-by-case you are asking for.
      - camdenlock 6y ago
        > I'll agree that there are some cases where a lack of diversity doesn't indicate any weakness in the community, but that is not the general case. Do you think that e.g. a forum about child-rearing populated almost entirely by women exhibits “a lack of diversity”?
    - asyncanup 6y ago
      Yes to case-by-case, and in this case, Hacker News being a somewhat representative demographic of the Tech sector, it is rather unfortunate that it lacks the noted diversity. It's not ok to suggest that the Tech sector, being one of the most important industries for gaining financial independence and making an impact on the world, must remain the white male bastion that it is.
      - camdenlock 6y ago
        You can’t force demographics. People are going to navigate to and participate in the things that interest them. There’s nothing unfortunate about that. Maybe you’re really thinking about unnecessary gatekeeping or something? THAT is unfortunate. But it’s vital to recognize the difference between these concepts. One is immoral, the other is not.
  - johnisgood 6y ago
    Sorry, I have to: we need more female construction workers for diversity. Most occupational deaths are male. We need to balance that scale. Do not we?! Sigh...

These are simply the most recent users who have signed up, and unfortunately the the HN demographic is pretty male...

camdenlock 6y ago

“Unfortunately”. What a ridiculous culture we’ve built if this sentiment is widely accepted. Just bizarre.

deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
ska 6y ago
Nothing bizarre about it; Diverse viewpoints tend to strengthen a community, so considering it unfortunate that HN doesn't benefit from a broader demographic distribution is pretty defensible.
- camdenlock 6y ago
  By that logic, it would be sensible to lament that, say, a particular daycare is staffed entirely by women, or that a particular ice hockey team is made up entirely of white men. Sometimes groups of humans coalesce these ways, and there’s nothing wrong or unfortunate about it. No intervention requested or required. If you want to champion diversity of viewpoints, that’s a different matter entirely, and such conditions may be desirable, depending on the wants & needs of the group in question. Take these things on a case-by-case basis. Don’t reach for top-down governance as a panacea when such a thing is neither requested nor required.
  - ska 6y ago
    > By that logic, it would be sensible to lament that, say, a particular daycare is staffed entirely by women, or that This is a non-sequitur; neither of those are communities in the sense under discussion. I'll agree that there are some cases where a lack of diversity doesn't indicate any weakness in the community, but that is not the general case. I don't know why you are bringing "intervention" into the discussion as I did not, nor did the OP. And who said anything about top-down governance? I noted only that the case for more diversity in HN is quite defensible, and it obviously is. NB I didn't claim it was correct, just defensible which is a pretty low bar. So beyond "bizarre" being an overreach (ironically, verging on bizarre even before the ex post facto introduction of intervention, etc.), this is exactly the case-by-case you are asking for.
    - camdenlock 6y ago
      > I'll agree that there are some cases where a lack of diversity doesn't indicate any weakness in the community, but that is not the general case. Do you think that e.g. a forum about child-rearing populated almost entirely by women exhibits “a lack of diversity”?
  - asyncanup 6y ago
    Yes to case-by-case, and in this case, Hacker News being a somewhat representative demographic of the Tech sector, it is rather unfortunate that it lacks the noted diversity. It's not ok to suggest that the Tech sector, being one of the most important industries for gaining financial independence and making an impact on the world, must remain the white male bastion that it is.
    - camdenlock 6y ago
      You can’t force demographics. People are going to navigate to and participate in the things that interest them. There’s nothing unfortunate about that. Maybe you’re really thinking about unnecessary gatekeeping or something? THAT is unfortunate. But it’s vital to recognize the difference between these concepts. One is immoral, the other is not.
- johnisgood 6y ago
  Sorry, I have to: we need more female construction workers for diversity. Most occupational deaths are male. We need to balance that scale. Do not we?! Sigh...