Really? Freakin' bloddy really?

Story: FOSS advocate who's free, frank and fearlessTotal Replies: 6
Author Content
dinotrac

Jul 12, 2011
10:44 AM EDT
It's not like TC isn't awesome.

We all know she is, but...do we really want HER to find out?

Cr@p. Now that I think about it, I've got to get into the act, too.

Double cr@p.

But...

TC has raised my awareness of women in FOSS, which is not surprising. What did surprise were some of the insights that came along for the ride. Two recent cases in point:

1. At WindyCityGo, a recent Chicago conference on mobile app development, I noticed that the audience was more or less evenly split between men and women. There seemed to be little difference in interest levels between the men and women, and a much greater interest in entrepreneurial concerns than I find at typical FOSS geek gatherings. I believe the conference was better - smarter, even - for the diversity of its audience and the well rounded interests that informed the questions and discussions.

2. I later helped with an introduction to Rails for women put on by the Chicago branch of Devchix and presented by the indefatigable local Rails evangelist (and hack night host) Ginny Hendry. Again, I was impressed by the women who showed up, who ranged from Northwestern students to single moms. Interest, smarts, far more social ability than at the general FOSS geek gathering, and...something more...something that hit me during the introductory presentation.

One basic tenet of Rails development is that it's opinionated -- good Rails developers inform their clients, rationalizing deliverable scheducles, pushing back against bad ideas and suggesting good alternatives. When that slide went up on the screen, I looked around at the room and imagined these women vs some self-anointed Rails "Gods" in a corporate environment. I'll leave it to you to imagine which group I would put my money on to succeed.

At any rate:

TC -- you rock. Just don't let it go to your head.







jdixon

Jul 12, 2011
11:47 AM EDT
Yeah, TC rocks. And she's not the only LXer contributor who does. So do Caitlyn and Tracyanne. All different, but each contributes in their own way.

Now, I've had personal disagreements with all of them at one time or another, but that doesn't mean I can't appreciate the good they do. And a world in which everyone agreed with me would be rather boring.
dinotrac

Jul 12, 2011
12:06 PM EDT
@jdixon :

>And a world in which everyone agreed with me would be rather boring.

And that, my friend, is the major difference between a world where everyone agrees with you and a world where everyone agrees with me!
lcafiero

Jul 12, 2011
12:53 PM EDT
But when did you change your name to Frank, TC, as it says in the headline?
tuxchick

Jul 13, 2011
12:43 AM EDT
Shirley you all jest.

Dino, I do rock. Back and forth, back and forth.
tracyanne

Jul 13, 2011
1:01 AM EDT
Don't call me Shirley
dinotrac

Jul 13, 2011
4:34 AM EDT
I guess the foot's on the other hand now, isn't it?

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