David Dyer-Bennet wrote: > If you build a community that's based primarily on valuing people > skills, you'll get a very different one than if you built it based > primarily on technical skills.
If you give people license to be disrespectful to their peers on the basis of their self-perceived talent, then you're in for a rocky ride.[1] :) Talent and people skills are orthogonal. I don't believe that even the Mozart of software earns the right to be a jerk to people. > Respect is something > you have to *earn*, it's not given for the asking. Or - offer respect equally to everyone and allow them the option to erode it or grow it. Some people - mischaracterized as outcasts - just need that much of a chance. The internet is less and less its own space, where participants are emboldened by their invisibility and anonymity to be confrontational and aggressive in a way they wouldn't dare to be in person. Shouldn't the tone of the conversation reflect the reality that in 2007 there's no longer a line to be drawn between our online and offline identities? I know Christopher's comment about "Stepford Wives" wasn't intended as a swipe at women. But it made me think... if we're serious about encouraging women to share their skills with this community, maybe it's time for some fresh thinking on communication? Donal [1] See Kruger and Dunning's "Unskilled and Unaware of It: How Difficulties in Recognizing One's Own Incompetence Lead to Inflated Self-Assessments". _______________________________________________ opensolaris-discuss mailing list opensolaris-discuss@opensolaris.org
