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> I’m on the board overseeing Linux graphics. Half of us are trans. If all you care about is Linux, resist the attacks on trans people. > If you have any decenc

> I’m on the board overseeing Linux graphics. Half of us are trans. If all you care about is Linux, resist the attacks on trans people. > If you have any decency, fight back. https://web.archive.org/web/20250520182445/https://rosenzweig.io/blog/growing-up-alyssa.html https://web.archive.org/web/20250520182445/https://rosenzwei...

xyzsparetimexyz 1y ago
[flagged]
- abustamam 1y ago
  https://asahilinux.org/docs/project/board/asahi-board/ https://asahilinux.org/docs/project/board/asahi-board/ The board is 7 people. I'm unclear what makes this awkward or inconvenient.
  - alt187 1y ago
    The proportion of trans people in humanity is less than 50%. Pointing this out makes it seem the board has a disproportionate number of trans people.
    - nemomarx 1y ago
      I mean it probably does? A somewhat disproportionate number of people in software are trans. However, you could look at it the other way - if you take any group of 5-10 people I bet they're disproportionately something. Very few groups are selected evenly from all of humanity.
    - stouset 1y ago
      Okay, and?
    - abustamam 1y ago
      And HN has a disproportionate number of tech enthusiasts... We can point out random disproportionate number of X in any Y population; it doesn't make it relevant to GPUs or Asahi Linux
- 9dev 1y ago
  Trans people are bad optics now..?
  - xyzsparetimexyz 1y ago
    [flagged]
    - nemomarx 1y ago
      What's the negative stereotype we're worried about here? "trans women are hackers" or something? Linux secretly makes you trans? The banker thing would be bad optics because of conspiracies about it, but I'm not aware of an equivalent.
      - BuildTheRobots 1y ago
        "It would have been the year of the Linux desktop too, if it wasn't for those pesky trans hackers!"
    - stouset 1y ago
      How magnanimous and thoughtful of you to try and make it seem like your original comment was about protecting trans people who all just want to blend in and not be seen. Except, you know, these specific people are openly trans and explicitly choosing for themselves to make a point about it.
    - abustamam 1y ago
      I would not have known she was trans if it weren't for random commenters randomly saying "she's trans and just wants to blend in" I agree with that statement, but consistently calling it out kinda seems to be having the opposite effect.
- Refreeze5224 1y ago
  Are you not aware of the very casual prejudice you're showing with this comment, or do you not see a problem with it? Regardless of your political or religious views on people's right to exist, simple politeness if nothing else should prevent this sort of comment. I assume you wouldn't say it to their face, so why say it here?
  - xyzsparetimexyz 1y ago
    See https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45043002 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45043002
abustamam 1y ago
I'm unclear what the relevance of this comment is. It's by the same author but doesn't seem to bear any relevance to the M1 GPU.
- fourside 1y ago
  Not the OP but my guess is that they want to raise awareness that people who are making significant technical contributions in our field are affected by the actions of the US administration. Not that exceptionally talented people deserve more legal protections, but the reality is that our industry would be worse off without people like Alyssa. I know it can be at times grating to constantly hear about stuff like this, but I can assure you folks like Alyssa would rather focus on techie stuff rather than have to ask for help so they can stay safe. For them that worry is now always present and it’s not something they can ignore.
  - abustamam 1y ago
    Thanks. I agree with your sentiment. But the OP just posted a random quote from one of her blog posts with no context. It could have either been to raise awareness about her being trans (honestly I'd have never known had it not been for the comment), or to discount the original article because she is trans. I hope it was the former, but that's why I didn't want to just assume the OPs intention.
- Refreeze5224 1y ago
  The author is incredibly talented, and has done the community with a valuable service; one that the HN crowd especially is likely to benefit from. Many people in her situation are not lucky enough to be in a mental or physical position to be able to pursue this sort of work or take advantage of their talent, and that is in large part due to the persistent and long-standing discrimination trans people face. Even if one is totally self-interested, it pays not to discriminate. Even if one can't muster up even a little decency to not discriminate because, ya know, it's wrong.
  - abustamam 1y ago
decremental 1y ago
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deleted 1y ago
[deleted]
porphyra 1y ago
By the way, out of pure curiosity, why does it seem that there are a disproportionately high amount of super talented trans programmers? I mean, trans people make up for a relatively small percentage of the general populace so it would be unlikely for half of any random group, even if it's only 7 people, to be trans. There are even memes like programmer socks etc. I also personally know several very proficient programmers who are trans.
- stouset 1y ago
  I am nowhere near an expert or even a particularly well-informed person here, but my idle speculation is that online technical spaces are a place where you can have much more freedom in comfortably choosing the outward persona you wish to present. In meatspace, if your physical appearances and your chosen persona don't match up in ways that some people find disagreeable, many people will go out of their way to let you know it. Edit: I'm proposing a selection effect here, where people with these challenges gravitate towards spaces and communities where they don't feel confronted by them as often.
  - kevincox 1y ago
    But by this logic roughly half of the population is trans, but the vast majority are afraid to present as such. The actual number of trans people is surely impossible to know due to these societal pressures but I find it hard to believe that almost half of the population is trans. I suspect there are other factors.
    - itsmek 1y ago
      My read is that post is not arguing what you think (that it's caused by freedom to present how they feel and that it's a representative population) but instead that it's caused by a selection effect. But this argument is implied so I see why you mistook it.
      - stouset 1y ago
        That's correct. I suspect there's a selection effect where people who struggle with these challenges in their lives find comfort in a space where they can present as the person they want to be without constantly being questioned, attacked, or otherwise made uncomfortable. And that's not because this industry is more enlightened, but because it's much easier to contribute and participate only with an online persona that can be divorced from your physical characteristics. I hope it's clear that I am not trying to speak authoritatively and that this is more or less a total guess on my part based on some pretty superficial analysis.

xyzsparetimexyz 1y ago

[flagged]

abustamam 1y ago
https://asahilinux.org/docs/project/board/asahi-board/ https://asahilinux.org/docs/project/board/asahi-board/ The board is 7 people. I'm unclear what makes this awkward or inconvenient.
- alt187 1y ago
  The proportion of trans people in humanity is less than 50%. Pointing this out makes it seem the board has a disproportionate number of trans people.
  - nemomarx 1y ago
    I mean it probably does? A somewhat disproportionate number of people in software are trans. However, you could look at it the other way - if you take any group of 5-10 people I bet they're disproportionately something. Very few groups are selected evenly from all of humanity.
  - stouset 1y ago
    Okay, and?
  - abustamam 1y ago
    And HN has a disproportionate number of tech enthusiasts... We can point out random disproportionate number of X in any Y population; it doesn't make it relevant to GPUs or Asahi Linux
9dev 1y ago
Trans people are bad optics now..?
- xyzsparetimexyz 1y ago
  [flagged]
  - nemomarx 1y ago
    What's the negative stereotype we're worried about here? "trans women are hackers" or something? Linux secretly makes you trans? The banker thing would be bad optics because of conspiracies about it, but I'm not aware of an equivalent.
    - BuildTheRobots 1y ago
      "It would have been the year of the Linux desktop too, if it wasn't for those pesky trans hackers!"
  - stouset 1y ago
    How magnanimous and thoughtful of you to try and make it seem like your original comment was about protecting trans people who all just want to blend in and not be seen. Except, you know, these specific people are openly trans and explicitly choosing for themselves to make a point about it.
  - abustamam 1y ago
    I would not have known she was trans if it weren't for random commenters randomly saying "she's trans and just wants to blend in" I agree with that statement, but consistently calling it out kinda seems to be having the opposite effect.
Refreeze5224 1y ago
Are you not aware of the very casual prejudice you're showing with this comment, or do you not see a problem with it? Regardless of your political or religious views on people's right to exist, simple politeness if nothing else should prevent this sort of comment. I assume you wouldn't say it to their face, so why say it here?
- xyzsparetimexyz 1y ago
  See https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45043002 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45043002

abustamam 1y ago

I'm unclear what the relevance of this comment is. It's by the same author but doesn't seem to bear any relevance to the M1 GPU.

fourside 1y ago
Not the OP but my guess is that they want to raise awareness that people who are making significant technical contributions in our field are affected by the actions of the US administration. Not that exceptionally talented people deserve more legal protections, but the reality is that our industry would be worse off without people like Alyssa. I know it can be at times grating to constantly hear about stuff like this, but I can assure you folks like Alyssa would rather focus on techie stuff rather than have to ask for help so they can stay safe. For them that worry is now always present and it’s not something they can ignore.
- abustamam 1y ago
  Thanks. I agree with your sentiment. But the OP just posted a random quote from one of her blog posts with no context. It could have either been to raise awareness about her being trans (honestly I'd have never known had it not been for the comment), or to discount the original article because she is trans. I hope it was the former, but that's why I didn't want to just assume the OPs intention.
Refreeze5224 1y ago
The author is incredibly talented, and has done the community with a valuable service; one that the HN crowd especially is likely to benefit from. Many people in her situation are not lucky enough to be in a mental or physical position to be able to pursue this sort of work or take advantage of their talent, and that is in large part due to the persistent and long-standing discrimination trans people face. Even if one is totally self-interested, it pays not to discriminate. Even if one can't muster up even a little decency to not discriminate because, ya know, it's wrong.
- abustamam 1y ago

decremental 1y ago

[dead]

deleted 1y ago

[deleted]

porphyra 1y ago

By the way, out of pure curiosity, why does it seem that there are a disproportionately high amount of super talented trans programmers? I mean, trans people make up for a relatively small percentage of the general populace so it would be unlikely for half of any random group, even if it's only 7 people, to be trans. There are even memes like programmer socks etc. I also personally know several very proficient programmers who are trans.

stouset 1y ago
I am nowhere near an expert or even a particularly well-informed person here, but my idle speculation is that online technical spaces are a place where you can have much more freedom in comfortably choosing the outward persona you wish to present. In meatspace, if your physical appearances and your chosen persona don't match up in ways that some people find disagreeable, many people will go out of their way to let you know it. Edit: I'm proposing a selection effect here, where people with these challenges gravitate towards spaces and communities where they don't feel confronted by them as often.
- kevincox 1y ago
  But by this logic roughly half of the population is trans, but the vast majority are afraid to present as such. The actual number of trans people is surely impossible to know due to these societal pressures but I find it hard to believe that almost half of the population is trans. I suspect there are other factors.
  - itsmek 1y ago
    My read is that post is not arguing what you think (that it's caused by freedom to present how they feel and that it's a representative population) but instead that it's caused by a selection effect. But this argument is implied so I see why you mistook it.
    - stouset 1y ago
      That's correct. I suspect there's a selection effect where people who struggle with these challenges in their lives find comfort in a space where they can present as the person they want to be without constantly being questioned, attacked, or otherwise made uncomfortable. And that's not because this industry is more enlightened, but because it's much easier to contribute and participate only with an online persona that can be divorced from your physical characteristics. I hope it's clear that I am not trying to speak authoritatively and that this is more or less a total guess on my part based on some pretty superficial analysis.