Re: GNOME Speaker Guidelines

[Patryk Zawadzki <patrys pld-linux org>]

2010/6/25 Stone Mirror <lefty shugendo org>:
> Since you've brought it up, Patryk, my very first thought in looking at these guidelines was to marvel at the completeness with which Mr. Stallman's "keynote" at GCDS last year managed to run roughshod over every single one.
>
> There's nothing wrong with jokes or humor. When the supposed "humor" comes directly at the expense of a minority of the audience―a part, in fact, which is unreasonably small―it should be apparent that this is not the sort of "humor" we want to be seeing in a keynote address at our community's own technical conference.
>
> "Humor" is supposed to be funny; Mr. Stallman was not. A keynote should not single out a portion of the community for unwanted negative attention, particularly when that attention is of a sexual nature.

I am not defending RMS. I am just stating that the anti-RMS rules are
so vague that any statement can be bent to become a violation. I bet
at least one person in the audience is offended when they see the
presenter using a Mac. Or sporting a Windows t-shirt. Or using an
iPod. Or mentioning that Apple did something better than GNOME.
"Security, seize and escort the speaker out of the building." :)

> Within the past two weeks, a male attendee sexually assaulted a couple of women at a Linux conference. Perhaps he believed that they were "EMACS virgins" and he was exercising his "holy duty".

That's completely irrelevant. Do we need to write a list of "no bag
stealing", "no puppy strangling" etc.? Sexual assaults are supposed to
be dealt with using law enforcement, not speaker guidelines.

-- 
Patryk Zawadzki