gag rule joke

[Siddhesh Poyarekar]

On 05/08/2018 07:26 AM, Richard Stallman wrote:
> I don't believe women will tend to take offense at this joke.  I don't
> believe this joke will offend anyone, except for those who approach it
> with a predisposition to take offense, and that predisposition is not
> the jokes fault.

You're not in a position to claim that, being a not-woman.  Besides, 
it's possible for abortions to be traumatic for non-women too, they're 
are not as manly as they make themselves out to be.

The point in the end is not about *how many* people get offended by the 
joke or find it in bad taste; the point is that the joke is vague and 
doesn't really serve any purpose than possibly offending someone.

All this for a topic that is not directly relevant to the GNU project. 
This is so irrelevant that we shouldn't even be having this 
conversation, let alone arguments over governance.

> However, there is something in GNU libc development that is likely to
> drive women away: a climate of verbal aggression.
> 
> Women are as capable of appreciating humor as men.  However, I've read
> plenty of articles where women talk about receiving verbal aggression
> from a mob of men.  I am sure many women will stay away from a place
> where such a mob is to be seen.  Today the mob's target is me;
> tomorrow, it could be anyone.

Please show me a libc-alpha thread other than this one that demonstrates 
your point.  This is the most aggressive (by far!) I have seen most of 
the maintainers become in an email discussion and most of it has been 
reactions to doubts on our good faith or to your assertion of ultimate 
authority regardless of our near-unanimous opinion.

I would argue that you and Alex have managed something really special 
here; I haven't managed to get Carlos this annoyed despite working with 
him for so many years!

> It is supremely ironic that people are criticizing me for --
> supposedly -- offending people with an impersonal joke, while pouring
> out gross personal insults and attacks.

You're being disingenuous by framing us as aggressive when you've only 
been invoking personal authority all through the thread.

Siddhesh