 |
 |
I agree that this thread has reached levels of toxicity that I didn't think Code4Lib was capable of. At the risk of perpetuating the thread, I hope that once this conversation is a distant memory, the community members who have already been driven away will someday return to a more welcoming space. On Tue, Jul 2, 2019 at 2:36 PM Natasha Allen <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > This would be a great round table to have at next year's conference, just > not here. Not in this space. Not when *in this same thread* there is > cross-talk and accusatory language. It's particularly inappropriate if > we're not centering those who are often affected the most by these > situations. It's so hard to gauge tone in these discussions on the internet > and things can unnecessarily spiral, which is why I suggest a roundtable > discussion or somewhere where survivors feel safe to speak up. I appreciate > Sunni for bringing it up, and I agree it's important. I disagree with the > format and how it was brought up. It's not an indictment on any one person, > but more out of my personal concern and my desire to minimize harm to those > directly affected by sexual harassment. > > Natasha > > --- > Natasha Allen (she/her) > System and Fulfillment Coordinator, University Library > San José State University > 1 Washington Square > San José , CA 95192 > [log in to unmask] > 408-808-2655 > > > > > > On Tue, Jul 2, 2019 at 11:21 AM Andreas Orphanides <[log in to unmask]> > wrote: > > > I don't think the answer to the questions of this thread is "off-topic". > To > > my mind, it's not. It's been a long time since Code4Lib has been solely > the > > venue of people who write code in libraries, nor solely the place of > > discussion for code in libraries. This community has grown to encompass a > > whole host of adjacent issues, not least of which include things like > > psychological safety, diversity, and community-building in the library > > technology space at large. > > > > To that end, I think an empathetic and receptive discussion of sexual > > harassment and assault is relevant, and necessary. > > > > I share many of the same concerns that a lot of people do with how > Sunni's > > work emerged on the mailing list. I agree with what a lot of people have > > said about the journalism ethics issues and concerns about identifying > > contributors. But to the credit of many community members, especially > > Natasha, they have done a good job of reaching out to Sunni and > > communicating those concerns. And to Sunni's credit it seems like she's > > been receptive to those comments and will hopefully take those lessons to > > her next article. > > > > As frustrating and difficult as the thread has been, however, I think it > > would be wrong and shortsighted to use it as an excuse to shut down > > discussion of sexual harassment in our community. It happens in our > > workplaces and our departments. It happens at our conference. I like to > > think that "we" are in a better place with respect to this than many > other > > similar communities, especially in light of things like the Code of > Conduct > > and our use of Community Support Volunteers at the conference, but I have > > no direct evidence to know that we are "better" than anyone else. And I > > don't think there's a way we could get a sense without a frank and open > > discussion of the topic. > > > > I can't speak on behalf of those who have experienced harassment within > or > > outside of our community. But I know that they are part of our > community. I > > don't know how best to make Code4Lib a safe and welcoming place for them > to > > share their experiences, but I know that we -- especially those of us who > > have not had these experiences -- have to do it. And I'm pretty sure that > > shutting the door on discussion of the topic is not the way. > > > > On Tue, Jul 2, 2019 at 1:55 PM Christopher R. HOFFMAN < > > [log in to unmask]> > > wrote: > > > > > Hi Richard, thank you for demonstrating why this is not a safe space > > > for these kinds of conversations. > > > Thanks, > > > Chris > > > > > > On Jul 2, 2019, at 10:45 AM, richard > > > <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > > > > > > >> I know many people are ready to see this thread stop, but do you > know > > > of a better forum? > > > > > > > > You're a library information professional and don't have the skills > to > > > identify online forums related to libraries? Yikes! The first part of > the > > > name of this list is "CODE4" - that should provide adequate clue as the > > > nature of appropriate topics for posts. > > > > > > > > Finally, and this is to everyone who DOES have Internet research > skills > > > and the capacity to infer proper topics for the list based on its name, > > > ignore inappropriate content that you can't regulate...DON'T FEED THE > > > TROLLS. > > > > > >