Yes, I believe zoia was named as a tribute to Zoia Horn, FWIW.

-Mike


On Fri, Jan 18, 2013 at 11:40 AM, Kevin S. Clarke <[log in to unmask]>wrote:

> On Fri, Jan 18, 2013 at 11:26 AM, Karen Coyle <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> > Actually, I find the "playing" with Zoia itself offensive. As per my
> > response to my own message.
> >
> > It objectifies women. Treats them as play-things. Makes me very
> > uncomfortable.
>
> I think you're reading too much into Zoia's gender here.  As Ross
> said, the previous bot was named panizzi (Anthony Panizzi).  The names
> have just been picked from famous library folks.  I don't imagine
> anyone would have a problem finding a famous male librarian to rename
> the bot to, though.  I don't think there is anything to read into the
> gender of the bot here.
>
> > But to have a "play-thing" that is gendered is a really,
> > really bad idea. In fact, to have a "play-thing" of any kind on the
> channel
> > might not be a good idea.
>
> Would you object to a male name?  I don't think "playing" with a bot
> is a bad thing.  I've "played" with real people in the room in the
> same way.  The nice thing about a bot is that you know you'll get a
> response (whereas rsinger might just ignore me).
>
> As I said, I think you're reading too much into the bot's gender in
> this case, but I can't imagine anyone would have qualms about renaming
> the bot to a male name.  The name is pretty inconsequential; it was
> just meant as a tribute to famous folks in our field.
>
> Kevin
>