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Date: Tue, 17 Apr 2012 00:11:41 -0400
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Subject: Re: [PHP-DEV] Re voting
From: adamjonr@gmail.com (Adam Jon Richardson)

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On Mon, Apr 16, 2012 at 11:42 PM, <slevy1@pipeline.com> wrote:

> Stas:
>
> Just b/c there are rarely any women at all that participate on this list,
> could we at list maintain a facade of gender neutrality?  I seriously can't
> believe that you used the word "him".  What about "her"?  Yeah, "her" as in
> myself and every other woman who codes with PHP whether to earn her living
> or to have a pleasant past-time?  I am sure that there are plenty of PHP
> women just like me who  might really appreciate having the opportunity to
> vote on changes that might effect the way we work.
>
> Currently, it's as clear as mud to me as to what I need to do to be able
> to have some kind of voting impact.  The protocol or process needs to be
> clearly articulated in very clear language so that all concerned PHP men
> and women can be informed.
>
> Sharon Lee Levy, ZCE


Hi Sharon,

I'm a father of 3 daughters, and I'm protective of the opportunities
they'll have when they're old enough to enter the working world (right now
the oldest is 7.) In fact, my daughters have started developing websites
already, and I'm sure PHP is just around the corner, so maybe they'll end
up using this list a few years from now :)

I believe you quoted Stas's response below:

>> no, it only means that our internal processes aren't clear or easily
>> accessible.
>> people outside the circle can't do much, than asking people inside to
>> let them in.
>
>If somebody is an outsider to PHP development, why do you think giving
>him a deciding vote on it would be a good thing? One can discuss things,
>propose changes, etc. without any special access.

Stas does a great job engaging in the dialogues on this list, and I can't
even imagine the cost in terms of time. I know it must be great.

In this case, I don't believe Stas meant any offense. The lack of a gender
neutral pronoun in English is well documented (and argued:)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gender-neutral_pronoun

When Stas wanted to use a singular form of a pronoun, he had a few options
(as outlined in the link):
- he
- they (implied singular)
- one
- he/she

I'm confident his choice of words was for speed, not one of precise
articulation of the group involvement.

Glad you're own the list :) My girls will be grateful for the role model(s)
in a few years!

Adam

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