So, this is why Asimov never really included sex or adult language in his novels. Not because he was a prude (he wasn't) or had any moral qualms about such things (he didn't), or because he expected any significant portion of his audience to be prudes or have such qualms (scifi, as a fanbase, is exceedingly forgiving of sex, violence, and language). But, because some percentage of people would use it as an excuse not to <i>think</i> about what he had to say.<p>It's easier to write someone off as not worth listening to, if they say or do something "offensive". So, if you have something you consider important to say, it might behoove you to think about the ways people can write you off as not worth listening to. Since the fellow with the naked ladies in his presentation included the naked ladies in order to get attention, I'm going to assume he felt like he had something important to say. And, since nobody is talking about what he said, and only how he said it, I'm thinking he failed.
Dear god, not again. Not a month can go by without another gender debate that goes nowhere and has no resolution at all. I've seen these crop up in every programming community I've monitored over the last ten years.<p>Instead of whining about other people's behavior, perhaps people should <i>do</i> things to tackle the inequalities they perceive (such as the fine <i>Girl Geek Dinners</i> or "do a Amy Hoy" and put out some damn good blog posts and apps and become well known and respected in the community).<p>I see the irony in that <i>I'm</i> whining about someone else's behavior, but I don't want anything to be "fixed" as such.. I just wish these smart, decent people would get on with doing great work instead of losing time on a crazy argument that always goes nowhere.
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.<p>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.<p>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.
I learned a lot from this article, namely that if you want people to talk about your talks after you give them, add porn. It seems to be more effective than technical content, which just puts the audience to sleep.<p>Here's another example: <a href="http://use.perl.org/~Alias/journal/31986" rel="nofollow">http://use.perl.org/~Alias/journal/31986</a>
I saw this presentation when a friend (who's <i>not</i> a programmer) posted a link on Facebook to it.<p>I wouldn't be surprised if non-tech people thought this was a porn site thing.
For those who still care, here is my statement: <a href="http://merbist.com/2009/04/28/on-engendering-strong-reactions/" rel="nofollow">http://merbist.com/2009/04/28/on-engendering-strong-reaction...</a>