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Wow.. what an incredibly offensive presentation that Matt Aimonetti gave. That he needed to resort to such crass tactics speaks volumes about both him, the audi

Wow.. what an incredibly offensive presentation that Matt Aimonetti gave. That he needed to resort to such crass tactics speaks volumes about both him, the audience, and what he thought about the audience. I'm a little disappointed that there isn't a strong tone being taken against this guy; perhaps I'm just missing it? Even the woman bloggers seem to be apologizing for the offense they've taken. Those slides were hugely sexist and misogynistic; the imagery was stereotypical and gratuitous. I wasn't there, so didn't hear any accompanying commentary, but he would have to be an amazing speaker to make those slides appear not objectionable.

knowtheory 17y ago
I feel it necessary to speak to defend Matt's character. Having met him, and spoken with him, and conversed w/ him, i genuinely believe that he intended no offense.
- scott_s 17y ago
  "Intending" no offense really doesn't make it much better. All it means is that instead of being a jerk, you just don't have a concept of what's appropriate, and more importantly, why that might not be appropriate.
  - knowtheory 17y ago
    But that is still different from willful disregard, or malice. Defending Matt on this is a proposition i'm ambivalent on, since i don't condone the content of his presentation (i think the presentation was alienating, and the presentation seems to have predominantly featured pictures of scantily clad women rather than women and men for instance.)
    - ibsulon 17y ago
      Matt Aimonetti apology still has no links. As such, either google has no record or Matt has not apologized. As such, I would consider this willful disregard if he has seen or heard any comments regarding his presentation. [Edit: There was a non-apology, after all. http://www.ultrasaurus.com/sarahblog/2009/04/gender-and-sex-at-gogaruco/#comment-533 http://www.ultrasaurus.com/sarahblog/2009/04/gender-and-sex-... -- Really, his wife saw nothing wrong with this?]
      - knowtheory 17y ago
        Context is really important. What you and your friends may not have a problem with, and find funny/playful, can definitely be alienating to people who don't know you (and your intent). I've never heard Matt say anything misogynistic, and his wife Heidi is extremely friendly, intelligent and polite. Really, i am positive there was no ill intent here. This was a failure of judgement, not a failure of character.
      - axod 17y ago
        >> "Really, his wife saw nothing wrong with this?" Why is that hard to believe?
  - axod 17y ago
    If you try not offend anyone ever, you'll be incredibly boring.
earl 17y ago
Wow -- go read the presentation (available http://www.ultrasaurus.com/sarahblog/2009/04/gender-and-sex-at-gogaruco/ http://www.ultrasaurus.com/sarahblog/2009/04/gender-and-sex-... ). The kindest thing that can be said about Matt Aimonetti is he simply has no class. Or, apparently, a grownup relationship with women. I was going to criticize the blog hugothefrog linked to for indicting the whole Ruby community because of one asshole, but then I thought about it a little more and really? Nobody organizing the conference looked at his title and said hold on a minute? Or asked to vet the slides beforehand? Or in the audience stood up and said, "Matt, you're an asshole." This might have been funny in 6th grade. Now it's incredibly tasteless and probably actionable.
- gojomo 17y ago
  'Actionable'? How so? You're still allowed to be offensive in the US.
- knowtheory 17y ago
  Guys, here's the thing. Matt isn't an asshole. He's just not, by any definition (except maybe some right-wing nutjobs, given that he's French and all, but then they'd probably call him a morally loose, cheese eating surrender monkey, more than an asshole). He promotes tech, he contributes to the community, i've never seen him be mean or rude to anyone. If his wife and the others he keeps company with are any indication, people like him and thinks he does well by others. I saw the title and thought it was tasteless (i wasn't actually at GoGaRuCo), and maybe i should have said that it would have been upsetting, but i genuinely just thought it was going to be tasteless, not something that would offend (There's a book called "How to make love like a porn star" with the subtitle "A Cautionary Tale"). It's possible that Matt's presentation could have been executed in a manner that didn't offend. Nor was his intent juvenile, as you have asserted. From what he's said, he seems to have thought that people would be liberal (i don't mean that politically speaking) enough to handle the subject matter, which i think is a mistake he is not likely to make again. So, there's the disconnect. Matt had one impression of how his presentation would be received, and that assumption did not go challenged until after he delivered the pesentation. The audience, not knowing Matt, have different assumptions and boundaries on what is and isn't appropriate in a presentation. I'm willing to go so far as to say Matt was wrong on this. He made the wrong decision. But he didn't do it because he's callous, or mean, or misogynistic.
axod 17y ago
Anyone offended by that needs to get out more. Seriously? It's hardly hardcore. There's more porn in the average copy of cosmo. If there were minors in the audience, then sure. If it was a conference for nuns or something, then yup... the slides would be inappropriate. But it wasn't afaik I can understand an argument that it's distracting, but offensive? nope.
- hugothefrog 17y ago
  Not to be dismissive, but arguments about what is and what isn't offensive never get very far on the internet. It's a topic that requires empathy, and most people come around to someone else's point of view only through seeing their body language when talking about an offensive topic.
  - axod 17y ago
    Sure, but you can compare it to other things that people don't seem offended by. The slides I saw were far less racy than most magazines/news papers.
    - nonrecursive 17y ago
      The context is different from when you're watching TV or reading cosmo. That sort of activity is done in private with friends and family you know and that you feel safe with. That context is completely different from being in a room filled with men you don't know at a professional conference. Can you see how having the presenter show sexual images, all of women, could make women attendees uncomfortable? My understanding is that women in technology offer suffer from degrading sexism - from being ignored/marginalized to having their butts patted (yep, still happens). It makes sense to me that women would be uncomfortable to be at a professional conference where the presentation is "priming" the attendees to see women in a sexual way. It's not at all the same as watching tv or reading a magazine in private, and the same standards don't apply.

knowtheory 17y ago

I feel it necessary to speak to defend Matt's character. Having met him, and spoken with him, and conversed w/ him, i genuinely believe that he intended no offense.

scott_s 17y ago
"Intending" no offense really doesn't make it much better. All it means is that instead of being a jerk, you just don't have a concept of what's appropriate, and more importantly, why that might not be appropriate.
- knowtheory 17y ago
  But that is still different from willful disregard, or malice. Defending Matt on this is a proposition i'm ambivalent on, since i don't condone the content of his presentation (i think the presentation was alienating, and the presentation seems to have predominantly featured pictures of scantily clad women rather than women and men for instance.)
  - ibsulon 17y ago
    Matt Aimonetti apology still has no links. As such, either google has no record or Matt has not apologized. As such, I would consider this willful disregard if he has seen or heard any comments regarding his presentation. [Edit: There was a non-apology, after all. http://www.ultrasaurus.com/sarahblog/2009/04/gender-and-sex-at-gogaruco/#comment-533 http://www.ultrasaurus.com/sarahblog/2009/04/gender-and-sex-... -- Really, his wife saw nothing wrong with this?]
    - knowtheory 17y ago
      Context is really important. What you and your friends may not have a problem with, and find funny/playful, can definitely be alienating to people who don't know you (and your intent). I've never heard Matt say anything misogynistic, and his wife Heidi is extremely friendly, intelligent and polite. Really, i am positive there was no ill intent here. This was a failure of judgement, not a failure of character.
    - axod 17y ago
      >> "Really, his wife saw nothing wrong with this?" Why is that hard to believe?
- axod 17y ago
  If you try not offend anyone ever, you'll be incredibly boring.

earl 17y ago

Wow -- go read the presentation (available http://www.ultrasaurus.com/sarahblog/2009/04/gender-and-sex-at-gogaruco/ http://www.ultrasaurus.com/sarahblog/2009/04/gender-and-sex-... ). The kindest thing that can be said about Matt Aimonetti is he simply has no class. Or, apparently, a grownup relationship with women. I was going to criticize the blog hugothefrog linked to for indicting the whole Ruby community because of one asshole, but then I thought about it a little more and really? Nobody organizing the conference looked at his title and said hold on a minute? Or asked to vet the slides beforehand? Or in the audience stood up and said, "Matt, you're an asshole." This might have been funny in 6th grade. Now it's incredibly tasteless and probably actionable.

gojomo 17y ago
'Actionable'? How so? You're still allowed to be offensive in the US.
knowtheory 17y ago
Guys, here's the thing. Matt isn't an asshole. He's just not, by any definition (except maybe some right-wing nutjobs, given that he's French and all, but then they'd probably call him a morally loose, cheese eating surrender monkey, more than an asshole). He promotes tech, he contributes to the community, i've never seen him be mean or rude to anyone. If his wife and the others he keeps company with are any indication, people like him and thinks he does well by others. I saw the title and thought it was tasteless (i wasn't actually at GoGaRuCo), and maybe i should have said that it would have been upsetting, but i genuinely just thought it was going to be tasteless, not something that would offend (There's a book called "How to make love like a porn star" with the subtitle "A Cautionary Tale"). It's possible that Matt's presentation could have been executed in a manner that didn't offend. Nor was his intent juvenile, as you have asserted. From what he's said, he seems to have thought that people would be liberal (i don't mean that politically speaking) enough to handle the subject matter, which i think is a mistake he is not likely to make again. So, there's the disconnect. Matt had one impression of how his presentation would be received, and that assumption did not go challenged until after he delivered the pesentation. The audience, not knowing Matt, have different assumptions and boundaries on what is and isn't appropriate in a presentation. I'm willing to go so far as to say Matt was wrong on this. He made the wrong decision. But he didn't do it because he's callous, or mean, or misogynistic.

axod 17y ago

Anyone offended by that needs to get out more. Seriously? It's hardly hardcore. There's more porn in the average copy of cosmo. If there were minors in the audience, then sure. If it was a conference for nuns or something, then yup... the slides would be inappropriate. But it wasn't afaik I can understand an argument that it's distracting, but offensive? nope.

hugothefrog 17y ago
Not to be dismissive, but arguments about what is and what isn't offensive never get very far on the internet. It's a topic that requires empathy, and most people come around to someone else's point of view only through seeing their body language when talking about an offensive topic.
- axod 17y ago
  Sure, but you can compare it to other things that people don't seem offended by. The slides I saw were far less racy than most magazines/news papers.
  - nonrecursive 17y ago
    The context is different from when you're watching TV or reading cosmo. That sort of activity is done in private with friends and family you know and that you feel safe with. That context is completely different from being in a room filled with men you don't know at a professional conference. Can you see how having the presenter show sexual images, all of women, could make women attendees uncomfortable? My understanding is that women in technology offer suffer from degrading sexism - from being ignored/marginalized to having their butts patted (yep, still happens). It makes sense to me that women would be uncomfortable to be at a professional conference where the presentation is "priming" the attendees to see women in a sexual way. It's not at all the same as watching tv or reading a magazine in private, and the same standards don't apply.