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I promised myself that I wasn't going to reply directly to any of the comments, but it's important to rebut this succinctly: so far as I can tell, 100% of the t

I promised myself that I wasn't going to reply directly to any of the comments, but it's important to rebut this succinctly: so far as I can tell, 100% of the top 1oo contributors to Hacker News (by karma) are male. I am documenting my methodology and will publish my findings in the near future. Please remember that nobody has the right to not be offended. Meanwhile, if you can prove that HN has been taken over by Jewish black women with a collective chip on their shoulder, then I will stand corrected.

token_female 14y ago
I'm glad you're studying this. I think it would be useful to look at the comment threads about articles that have anything to do with sexism or women in tech - they are quite telling. Here are a couple of examples, but really, it happens every time there is an article about women that acknowledges the possibility that there might be some sexism in hacker culture. http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4238254 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4238254 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4087811 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4087811 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3452516 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3452516 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4679005 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4679005 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4323091 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4323091
xiaoma 14y ago
I don't dispute that it's a mostly male site. The problem is that unless you're claiming that being male is a negative thing, there's no reason to include it along with your criticisms of "know-it-alls" or "bunch of snarky dicks". If, for example, you said that Hollywood producers were "predominantly Jewish know-it-alls and on the average, a bunch of snarky dicks," then a lot of Jewish people would take offense and rightfully so... dispite the fact that the vast majority of producers are in fact Jewish. Similarly, the claim that elementary schoolteachers were "predominantly female know-it-alls and on the average, a bunch of snarky bitches," you would have offended a lot of women, and the fact that most elementary school teachers are female would be no defense. There's no need to bash men to make your argument. Bash the snarkiness or the know-it-all attitudes. That's my humble request to make the discussion a bit friendlier, and incidentally more focused on what actually matters.
- jbooth 14y ago
  It has to do with power. The comment about jewish film producers (high status) is not only not offensive, Mel Brooks has made jokes about it for 30 years. Calling all female schoolteachers (low pay) 'bitches' is extra offensive on 2 levels.

token_female 14y ago

I'm glad you're studying this. I think it would be useful to look at the comment threads about articles that have anything to do with sexism or women in tech - they are quite telling. Here are a couple of examples, but really, it happens every time there is an article about women that acknowledges the possibility that there might be some sexism in hacker culture. http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4238254 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4238254 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4087811 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4087811 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3452516 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3452516 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4679005 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4679005 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4323091 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4323091

xiaoma 14y ago

I don't dispute that it's a mostly male site. The problem is that unless you're claiming that being male is a negative thing, there's no reason to include it along with your criticisms of "know-it-alls" or "bunch of snarky dicks". If, for example, you said that Hollywood producers were "predominantly Jewish know-it-alls and on the average, a bunch of snarky dicks," then a lot of Jewish people would take offense and rightfully so... dispite the fact that the vast majority of producers are in fact Jewish. Similarly, the claim that elementary schoolteachers were "predominantly female know-it-alls and on the average, a bunch of snarky bitches," you would have offended a lot of women, and the fact that most elementary school teachers are female would be no defense. There's no need to bash men to make your argument. Bash the snarkiness or the know-it-all attitudes. That's my humble request to make the discussion a bit friendlier, and incidentally more focused on what actually matters.

jbooth 14y ago
It has to do with power. The comment about jewish film producers (high status) is not only not offensive, Mel Brooks has made jokes about it for 30 years. Calling all female schoolteachers (low pay) 'bitches' is extra offensive on 2 levels.