Thank you. S.
On Sun, 21 Jul 2019 at 21:46, Matthew Butterick <[email protected]> wrote: > I'm not a member of Racket management. But I spend a lot of time using & > promoting Racket. Most recently, I taught the Beautiful Racket Workshop as > part of Racket Week 2019. > > I care a lot about Racket — the technology, but especially the human > community that makes it possible. > > I've heard from a few people that events before, during, or after Racket > Week left them questioning Racket's commitment to making everyone feel > welcome. And to be honest, it wasn't the first time. > > This saddens me. It's not consistent with my own values. It's not what I > want Racket to stand for. I want everyone to feel welcome, wanted, and > valued. > > In a nearby thread, Matthew Flatt talked about the importance of "reducing > barriers" in a technical sense. But it matters in a community sense too, of > course. > > If Racket is putting up social barriers — even unwittingly — that are > frustrating newcomers (or existing members) then we ought to be able to > hear this with an open mind & heart, and make adjustments. This is our duty > as empathetic, moral members of a community. > > I'm not sure what I can do to improve this situation. I'm open to > suggestions. I can at least offer the following (I would rather risk > looking foolish than doing nothing): > > > 1) If you've had an experience where the Racket community made you feel > less than totally welcomed, I invite you to add it to this thread, or > contact me privately. If you want details of your story shared, in some > anonymized way, I can do that. > > I recognize the irony of making this offer on the racket-users mailing > list — those who've had a bad experience are likely long gone. But I also > know there are people here who, like me, want to help make Racket better, > even on rough days. > > > 2) Gently, I suggest that we work together to reduce the volatility of > these conversations. I know that some feel that these matters are better > handled away from the racket-users list. But this is counterproductive: it > amounts to saying that we should feel free to harvest the benefits of > Racket-the-technology while avoiding obligations to Racket-the-community. > As a matter of logic and ethics, I can't see how they are divisible. > > > 3) Today, I'm a reasonably well-adjusted adult (or at least my dog thinks > so). But a long time ago, I was a fat and dorky and smart kid. For years, I > was physically and verbally bullied at school. It was relentless and > terrifying. But as was true for a lot of kids like me during that era, > computers were a refuge. They never judged me. They rewarded my curiosity. > > I mention this not to put my experience on a footing with anyone else's. > But it reminds me that while our contributions to Racket may be public, > what Racket MEANS to each of us is necessarily private. Right now, there > are people in our community for whom Racket is a bright spot in difficult > times. If you haven't been there yet — you will. > > To my mind, discussing these matters openly is about preserving the > paramount virtue of a community based on sharing knowledge: to accept > everyone just as they are. When we're falling short in this regard, we > shouldn't avoid these facts, lest we make a virtue of ignorance. Or if we > can't do this, and people bypass Racket in preference to other communities, > then we'll have no one to blame but ourselves. > > With much gratitude to everyone who makes Racket possible. > > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Racket Users" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/racket-users/8964B1F7-C0A5-44BA-AFE3-FF87E038F3CE%40mbtype.com > . > -- ---- -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Racket Users" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/racket-users/CAGHj7-JeGBpGcJUyuH7zHk18Ra33Apq%2BZ%2Bjvx2qYRYsthPYGgg%40mail.gmail.com.
