The general assertion made here, that the community is defined almost entirely by "straight white men over the years", is wrong.<p>The community has been defined by one thing: People who were affluent enough to be able to afford a computer, a connection to the internet, and on top of all that, the time and inclination to explore and learn.<p>This excluded virtually everyone in low-income families due to economic reasons. While most men and women were uninterested in personal computers until they became affordable and the software and services available for them was more compelling, in general terms, women seemed even less interested than men in the early days.<p>The nascent personal computer and internet space had a lot more to it than straight white men. If you were relatively affluent and had the inclination to try, you were a part of that community. Women and non-straight, non-white men have always been an important element of the community. It's just easy to ignore that.<p>If we stopped assuming all the people in the community were like us, or more importantly, that they were <i>supposed</i> to be like us, we'd probably do a lot better.<p>We're in an age where anyone can buy a notebook computer, I've even seen homeless people with netbooks they could've purchased by turning in a few thousand empty cans, and the barrier to engaging with the internet is very low. Where the internet used to be exclusive, it's now inclusive and we should be acting accordingly.