5 ms·

I really like the positioning of the problem as a technical issue, or a series of bugs. FIX ALL THE BUGS [in society].

rb2k_ 14y ago
I really hope it's not premature optimization. I'd rather see a good speaker lineup as a first priority and a diverse lineup coming second. I really don't care WHO presents, as long as the talk is good. I'd really hate to have to sit through bad talks just because somebody felt like they would have to favor diversity over content.
- KuraFire 14y ago
  Yeah, because we all know white men are incapable of giving bad presentations.
  - rb2k_ 14y ago
    I think this is called "Straw Man": http://www.nizkor.org/features/fallacies/straw-man.html http://www.nizkor.org/features/fallacies/straw-man.html
    - KuraFire 14y ago
      I do hope you realize that your initial comment was the actual straw man here. You misrepresented the argument as being “diversity over quality” (and calling it “premature optimization”), when that was never the argument. Additionally, your comment reveals that you enjoy a fair amount of privilege; you say you don’t care who presents, meaning you are fine with the status quo amongst conference speakers. Yes, we would all like to live in a meritocracy, but please don’t claim that we do. Any comment that doesn’t acknowledge that the status quo is unfairly balanced to favor white men at the cost of all other demographics, is a comment arguing in favor of the status quo, and thus, unhelpful if not downright harmful. I know people like you mean well, but please stop saying “I don’t care WHO presents, I just want quality” because every time you say that, you send the message that you don’t care to improve the sexism and racism in our community. I DO care who presents: I want it to be a lineup of both quality AND diversity (because I don’t like homogenous perspectives), and I am 100% convinced that this is absolutely possible to achieve. It just requires hard work and smart thinking.
      - deleted 14y ago
        [deleted]
- wpietri 14y ago
  I don't think she's suggesting you favor diversity over content. Note that the bugs she mentions include, "men are better speakers than women".
  - rb2k_ 14y ago
    Oh, I didn't mean to imply that. I just wanted to point out that trying to fix this bug 'up front' might be a timesink. I think for conferences, you should try to optimize the 'details' once you're at a point that your product could 'ship' :)

rb2k_ 14y ago

I really hope it's not premature optimization. I'd rather see a good speaker lineup as a first priority and a diverse lineup coming second. I really don't care WHO presents, as long as the talk is good. I'd really hate to have to sit through bad talks just because somebody felt like they would have to favor diversity over content.

KuraFire 14y ago
Yeah, because we all know white men are incapable of giving bad presentations.
- rb2k_ 14y ago
  I think this is called "Straw Man": http://www.nizkor.org/features/fallacies/straw-man.html http://www.nizkor.org/features/fallacies/straw-man.html
  - KuraFire 14y ago
    I do hope you realize that your initial comment was the actual straw man here. You misrepresented the argument as being “diversity over quality” (and calling it “premature optimization”), when that was never the argument. Additionally, your comment reveals that you enjoy a fair amount of privilege; you say you don’t care who presents, meaning you are fine with the status quo amongst conference speakers. Yes, we would all like to live in a meritocracy, but please don’t claim that we do. Any comment that doesn’t acknowledge that the status quo is unfairly balanced to favor white men at the cost of all other demographics, is a comment arguing in favor of the status quo, and thus, unhelpful if not downright harmful. I know people like you mean well, but please stop saying “I don’t care WHO presents, I just want quality” because every time you say that, you send the message that you don’t care to improve the sexism and racism in our community. I DO care who presents: I want it to be a lineup of both quality AND diversity (because I don’t like homogenous perspectives), and I am 100% convinced that this is absolutely possible to achieve. It just requires hard work and smart thinking.
    - deleted 14y ago
      [deleted]
wpietri 14y ago
I don't think she's suggesting you favor diversity over content. Note that the bugs she mentions include, "men are better speakers than women".
- rb2k_ 14y ago
  Oh, I didn't mean to imply that. I just wanted to point out that trying to fix this bug 'up front' might be a timesink. I think for conferences, you should try to optimize the 'details' once you're at a point that your product could 'ship' :)