SJW trouble at Linux

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realibrad

Lifer
Oct 18, 2013
12,337
898
126
I am not feeling I am in a contest. I don't object to your counterpoints to my posts because I feel attacked or threatened. I feel they very often have nothing to do with what I say, that you are jousting at windmills of your own creation. I do not reject your reaching out to me. My problem is that you don't see what I do as reaching out to you when I think that is what I was doing.

I absolutely think you intend to help. I want to get that out of the way first.

Look, you say you don't feel that you are being attacked, but, the very next think you do is build imagery of me attacking.

Normally I would point out that conflict, but, in this case I will change things up. How would you want me to bridge that difference, and or, how did I misunderstand you there?
 

Moonbeam

Elite Member
Nov 24, 1999
74,744
6,761
126
I have been calm as well, as I am not angry here. This type of exchange is what I have asked from you before, so for me to get upset now would work against my interests.

As for reading something that is not there, I still do not see where you are trying to build a question. I clearly do not see where you build your question but never stated it.
I am aware that you do not see where my question is and that is the problem. I have made it clear a number of times. You need to start taking seriously that you don't see what is there not that you don't see it because it isn't there. So here we go again: The question is who is right in this Linux thingi. Who is right? Me, I don't know and the reason I don't know is because the answer to my mind turns on a second question I have no answer to, 'can code be objectively evaluated as superior in say example A as opposed to some alternative example B?'. Because I can't answer the second question I don't think I can answer the first. Does this make sense to you now?
 

realibrad

Lifer
Oct 18, 2013
12,337
898
126
I am aware that you do not see where my question is and that is the problem. I have made it clear a number of times. You need to start taking seriously that you don't see what is there not that you don't see it because it isn't there. So here we go again: The question is who is right in this Linux thingi. Who is right? Me, I don't know and the reason I don't know is because the answer to my mind turns on a second question I have no answer to, 'can code be objectively evaluated as superior in say example A as opposed to some alternative example B?'. Because I can't answer the second question I don't think I can answer the first. Does this make sense to you now?

Yes, but I feel that was already addressed. I don't see where that is the point of your original post, but, as I said I don't care. If that is your point now, I was willing (and thought I did) address that.

You also seem to be saying that you have an instinct, but can't qualify it. I see no ground to be made there so I will leave it be.

So, was the point of your entry into this to say that you don't know how to qualify what is good code, and you don't know how to judge the people that might be able to judge good code?
 

Moonbeam

Elite Member
Nov 24, 1999
74,744
6,761
126
The issue here though is the belief that the disparity is causing an inherent bias that prevents others from entering. Thus, they want to promote things other than quality of work because they think that people cannot compete on quality because of the gap from which they start. There is more, but, that is a big chunk of the issue.
I understand this. What I said was that the link had nothing to do with evaluating code objectively. That is all that I wanted to say. By saying it I simultaneously knew millions of other things, some about which we surely agree. For this reason I find your post OK but off the subject and even potentially distracting. In saying this to you I also feel you will now need to reply creating a second line of whatever it is here you seem to be so good at, 'quibbling' seems to work rather well.
 

Moonbeam

Elite Member
Nov 24, 1999
74,744
6,761
126
So, was the point of your entry into this to say that you don't know how to qualify what is good code, and you don't know how to judge the people that might be able to judge good code?
No, I don't know if there is such a thing as judging good code. This would absolutely imply that if somebody said they can judge good code I would not personally know if they could or not. What I am questioning is if within the coding community at Linux and elsewhere there is some general agreement that code is open to objective evaluation. Does the code community feel that whatever judgments it makes as to its ability to objectively judge the technical excellence of one code over another, is done with real objectivity or is it tainted by discrimination?

Is man made climate change a threat to human existence and becoming a greater and greater threat? I personally have no idea but I go with the scientific consensus. I have bought into the the notion of scientific consensus as making good sense. I have not made a similar assumption about an objective evaluation on coding.
 
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Moonbeam

Elite Member
Nov 24, 1999
74,744
6,761
126
Yes, but I feel that was already addressed. I don't see where that is the point of your original post, but, as I said I don't care. If that is your point now, I was willing (and thought I did) address that.
That is my point now and was in the original post. What I added in the original post was what I am left with being unable to objectively answer, which are the issues that my life experience tells me are likely involved. Those were opinions.
 

realibrad

Lifer
Oct 18, 2013
12,337
898
126
I understand this. What I said was that the link had nothing to do with evaluating code objectively. That is all that I wanted to say. By saying it I simultaneously knew millions of other things, some about which we surely agree. For this reason I find your post OK but off the subject and even potentially distracting. In saying this to you I also feel you will now need to reply creating a second line of whatever it is here you seem to be so good at, 'quibbling' seems to work rather well.

You are missing the logical conclusion. If the industry is filled with White and Asian men which is self-perpetuating because of their bias, then the solution becomes to find ways to promote non-white, non-Asian, non-male people. You then link the context of the discussion that we were having about removing and or reducing merit and you get an outcome where achievements by the aforementioned are reduced and no merit things are promoted.
 

realibrad

Lifer
Oct 18, 2013
12,337
898
126
No, I don't know if there is such a thing as judging good code. This would absolutely imply that if somebody said they can judge good code I would not personally know if they could or not. What I am questioning is if within the coding community at Linux and elsewhere there is some general agreement that code is open to objective evaluation. Does the code community feel that whatever judgments it makes as to its ability to objectively judge the technical excellence of one code over another, is done with real objectivity or is it tainted by discrimination?

Is man made climate change a threat to human existence and becoming a greater and greater threat? I personally have no idea but I go with the scientific consensus. I have bought into the the notion of scientific consensus as making good sense. I have not made a similar assumption about an objective evaluation on coding.

The logical presumption is yes. They (the people voting now) think they are judging good code. That is why they believe they have a merit system. That should be obvious no?
 

Moonbeam

Elite Member
Nov 24, 1999
74,744
6,761
126
You are missing the logical conclusion. If the industry is filled with White and Asian men which is self-perpetuating because of their bias, then the solution becomes to find ways to promote non-white, non-Asian, non-male people. You then link the context of the discussion that we were having about removing and or reducing merit and you get an outcome where achievements by the aforementioned are reduced and no merit things are promoted.
Golly Gee, we seem to have opened a second front. Can't see why I didn't see that coming. (In case anybody is asleep, I just did.)

What you are doing here is telling me YOUR logical conclusion when I just spent post after post explaining to you why I can come to no logical conclusions because I don't have enough information. I don't know if the industry is filled with men that self-perpetuate because of bias. It might be that they self perpetuate because of the quality of their code. It might be they see their code as superior because of bias. It might be that the quality of the code is only a partial issue. It might be there is no validity to justice warrior mentality on this issue. You have all the answers and understanding, or you think you do, not me, aside, of course, from the opinion I am not qualified to judge.
 

realibrad

Lifer
Oct 18, 2013
12,337
898
126
Golly Gee, we seem to have opened a second front. Can't see why I didn't see that coming. (In case anybody is asleep, I just did.)

What you are doing here is telling me YOUR logical conclusion when I just spent post after post explaining to you why I can come to no logical conclusions because I don't have enough information. I don't know if the industry is filled with men that self-perpetuate because of bias. It might be that they self perpetuate because of the quality of their code. It might be they see their code as superior because of bias. It might be that the quality of the code is only a partial issue. It might be there is no validity to justice warrior mentality on this issue. You have all the answers and understanding, or you think you do, not me, aside, of course, from the opinion I am not qualified to judge.

You dont have enough, but, they believe they do which is why they are taking action. You questioned how it could be evaluated. The article linked on the context of the thread shows how some believe that the system is inherently the issue. That, Asian and White males are the ones filtering out people through the idea of merit. It helps, or should help you understand the position they are coming from.
 

Moonbeam

Elite Member
Nov 24, 1999
74,744
6,761
126
The logical presumption is yes. They (the people voting now) think they are judging good code. That is why they believe they have a merit system. That should be obvious no?
Highly likely at least. But that is not the issue. The issue is that I don't have the experience to judge how good or bad their judgement might be. There is, after all, two sides of opinion on this neither of which I am qualified to judge based on any skills of my own in evaluating coding. I told you to take seriously the notion that you can't grasp what it means not to know things because your knee jerk reaction is to know everything. When I say I don't know you immediately think I think X or Y or should if I had any sense. I think I have very good sense and that when I say I can't evaluate code it is a fact. Knowing nothing about whether code can be objectively evaluated I can also not know between those who say they do and those who say false are right or wrong. So what you call making the logical presumption gets me absolutely nowhere. But it does for you because you frame the issue as if you know things, like, because some people say they can evaluate code means they actually can.

If you tell me there is a scientific consensus that global warming is a man made threat that needs attention and I don't believe in the scientific method or trust scientists, your assertion I am doomed falls on deaf ears. Your so called logical conclusion falls on deaf ears, I have not assumed one side is right and one is wrong. I am rather skilled in science, not so in coding. In one case I have made an assumption that science is a means to fact and in the other I have no idea on the validity of what code is better than what.
 

cytg111

Lifer
Mar 17, 2008
26,189
15,599
136
I am aware that you do not see where my question is and that is the problem. I have made it clear a number of times. You need to start taking seriously that you don't see what is there not that you don't see it because it isn't there. So here we go again: The question is who is right in this Linux thingi. Who is right? Me, I don't know and the reason I don't know is because the answer to my mind turns on a second question I have no answer to, 'can code be objectively evaluated as superior in say example A as opposed to some alternative example B?'. Because I can't answer the second question I don't think I can answer the first. Does this make sense to you now?

Yes and no.

Yes cause there is measurable objective considerations to safety and performance. Is this code reasonably fast, is it safe, is it thread safe.

No cause you may want to sacrifice some performance to up readability of the code for the next guy/girl who is going to accidentally end up in your code, you may or may not agree with doctrines of "Martin Fowler" - or whomever, there be a lot - A LOT - of strong opinions on the best styles and libs and I suspect this is where its at. For example Linus railed on C++ guys for a long time, to the point where expressed he was glad they were c++ guys cause then he wouldnt have to deal with their inferior coding skills in HIS project .. an effective way to keep the riff raff out.. You like C++? Out!
He can have valid reasons for keeping stuff in C but do you have to be an ass about it?
 

Gryz

Golden Member
Aug 28, 2010
1,551
204
106
You clearly do not understand the situation. People that own code that is foundational to Linux are threatening to remove their code from Linux.
I'm not a lawyer.
I don't like Open Source licenses.
If I ever write open source code myself (which I might do soon, by coincidence), I'll release it under a "do whatever the fuck you want"-license.

But what I do understand is that you can't pull code that easily, once you have given it away.

Eric Raymond wrote: "let me confirm that this threat has teeth". But Raymond isn't a lawyer either. Eric Raymond is an idiot and a dick. Whatever he says can be all ignored.

Richard Stallman said: "The developers of Linux, or any free program, can remove any and all code, at any time, without giving a reason. However, this doesn't force others to delete that code from their own versions of the program." Stallman isn't a lawyer either. Although I am sure he has a lot of knowledge of open source licenses. But overall, my conclusion is: nothing is gonna happen.
 

Moonbeam

Elite Member
Nov 24, 1999
74,744
6,761
126
You dont have enough, but, they believe they do which is why they are taking action. You questioned how it could be evaluated. The article linked on the context of the thread shows how some believe that the system is inherently the issue. That, Asian and White males are the ones filtering out people through the idea of merit. It helps, or should help you understand the position they are coming from.
I am quite convinced personally, that I understand the issue as well or better than you do. I also feel that any solution I would come up with would also be as good or better than yours, but I have stuck to the facts and those are that without knowing intimately the issues surrounding the evaluation of code, my opinions aren't worth the power to blow them to hell. You are here to push your ideas and I am hear to tell you the ideas you push are based on your assumptions that you believe to be correct, an act of hubris I resist, but am fully capable of expressing if I chose to as I just did.
 

Gryz

Golden Member
Aug 28, 2010
1,551
204
106
He can have valid reasons for keeping stuff in C but do you have to be an ass about it?
Yes.

C++ is 30+ years old. If you still don't understand why C++ isn't suited for real-time programming, well ..... If you still don't understand why C++ pushes you to bad coding practices, well .... Out !
 

Moonbeam

Elite Member
Nov 24, 1999
74,744
6,761
126
Yes and no.

Yes cause there is measurable objective considerations to safety and performance. Is this code reasonably fast, is it safe, is it thread safe.

No cause you may want to sacrifice some performance to up readability of the code for the next guy/girl who is going to accidentally end up in your code, you may or may not agree with doctrines of "Martin Fowler" - or whomever, there be a lot - A LOT - of strong opinions on the best styles and libs and I suspect this is where its at. For example Linus railed on C++ guys for a long time, to the point where expressed he was glad they were c++ guys cause then he wouldnt have to deal with their inferior coding skills in HIS project .. an effective way to keep the riff raff out.. You like C++? Out!
He can have valid reasons for keeping stuff in C but do you have to be an ass about it?
My personal opinion is that having totally suspected what you say here to be true, that what is good or bad in code is a matter of subjective opinion based on what angle you approach your critique from, what personal preferences, past practices, and styles you have traditionally favored. The real issue here is that somebody who is a dick has begun to consider the the possibility that things might be better if he weren't. Thanks for your post. Bottom line here, my opinion that assholes in motion want to stay in motion, we are witnessing delta in inertia due to social friction. Can you even step into the same river once.
 
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paperfist

Diamond Member
Nov 30, 2000
6,539
287
126
www.the-teh.com
I’m being ignorant but what does Linux code have to do with LGBTQA+? Further ignorant as starting with Q I don’t know what it stands for.
 

ultimatebob

Lifer
Jul 1, 2001
25,134
2,450
126
Perhaps I should start contributing code to the Mozilla Foundation (another major open source project that seems to have a liberal slant) and then sue them for descriminating against me for being a middle age hetero white guy when they reject my code commits.

Of course, they should probably reject my code because my programming skills kinds suck, but that’s not what my lawyer is going to say. :)
 
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realibrad

Lifer
Oct 18, 2013
12,337
898
126
Highly likely at least. But that is not the issue. The issue is that I don't have the experience to judge how good or bad their judgement might be. There is, after all, two sides of opinion on this neither of which I am qualified to judge based on any skills of my own in evaluating coding. I told you to take seriously the notion that you can't grasp what it means not to know things because your knee jerk reaction is to know everything. When I say I don't know you immediately think I think X or Y or should if I had any sense. I think I have very good sense and that when I say I can't evaluate code it is a fact. Knowing nothing about whether code can be objectively evaluated I can also not know between those who say they do and those who say false are right or wrong. So what you call making the logical presumption gets me absolutely nowhere. But it does for you because you frame the issue as if you know things, like, because some people say they can evaluate code means they actually can.

If you tell me there is a scientific consensus that global warming is a man made threat that needs attention and I don't believe in the scientific method or trust scientists, your assertion I am doomed falls on deaf ears. Your so called logical conclusion falls on deaf ears, I have not assumed one side is right and one is wrong. I am rather skilled in science, not so in coding. In one case I have made an assumption that science is a means to fact and in the other I have no idea on the validity of what code is better than what.

How about this. Do you think judging code is better than judging the person, no matter how flawed either approach is?

Also take note, that you have missed something. I have not given my opinion on this topic. I have only tried to give what I think is happening.
 

yllus

Elite Member & Lifer
Aug 20, 2000
20,577
432
126
When everyone is like-minded in style / experience / culture, an organization can move very, very fast. But that works best with a small or medium-size team. When you get truly large, though, you start to shoot yourself in both feet if you're not being inclusive. And if you're running a truly huge project like the Linux kernel, you necessarily need to shift from being super-coder-guy to deft administrator. Linus wasn't necessarily great at this, and some time to reflect would be good for him.

Starting to move Linux towards being more accepting of female developers in particular is simply forward-thinking. That's 51% of the world's population being shut out in any number of subtle and explicit ways, folks. In a world of ever-increasing technical complexity we need as many brilliant minds chipping in as possible - if that means fewer pictures of women's asses in CouchDB slide decks, then so be it.
 
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Ranulf

Platinum Member
Jul 18, 2001
2,865
2,517
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And yet I doubt that will stop majority women workplaces having things like fireman of the month pinup calendars or penis eraser heads on #2 pencils. In my experience that whole call for civility and notions of equality die out rather quickly if women are held to those standards the same as men.

Hell, some of the nastiest work drama I've heard or seen has been woman vs woman. Some called me a judgmental jerk for looking down on and supporting ostrasizing/firing a married city manager of a small town who was caught sleeping with the head of the sewer department (and letting the guy use a city credit card on the side). That female city manager fired the female worker who walked in on them inspecting each other's plumbing. The city lost a hostile work environment lawsuit over that and the manager still kept her job for over a year. PC politics to a tee.

But you know, all dem wimminz coders be upset over some nerd's pron puns.
 

Moonbeam

Elite Member
Nov 24, 1999
74,744
6,761
126
Yes.

C++ is 30+ years old. If you still don't understand why C++ isn't suited for real-time programming, well ..... If y
How about this. Do you think judging code is better than judging the person, no matter how flawed either approach is?

Also take note, that you have missed something. I have not given my opinion on this topic. I have only tried to give what I think is happening.
But that is not what concerns me. You did give your opinion on what you think is happening and that is the very opinion I said I had insufficient data to make. After saying so I then added my gut reaction with the understanding I had nothing with which to back it up but that it felt right to me. You also offered answers to how the issue could be addressed, the anonymous contributor thingi. My comment on that was that I did not know enough to be able to agree that would help.

As for judging, it's a bad habit in my opinion for someone who knows they don't know anything.

If you want to destroy somebody, make them a judge. A saying.
 

Lanyap

Elite Member
Dec 23, 2000
8,286
2,381
136
I’m being ignorant but what does Linux code have to do with LGBTQA+? Further ignorant as starting with Q I don’t know what it stands for.


Dude, you need to keep up.

Lesbian
Gay
Bisexual
Transgender
Queer and/or Questioning,
Asexual and/or (Straight) Ally
+ any other identity a person might have

 
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