[leidenfrost]

What I like about Lina and Alyssa is the increase of visibility of LGBT+ people in the more "hardware" part of software development.

As your get more low level, less visual and more niche, there's less and less diversity of software developers. And everyone should feel welcomed into hacking the kernel.

[okeuro49]

Everyone being welcomed into contributing to the kernel can result in a natural lack of diversity, as it selects for people interested in technical programming.

It is the ham-fisted attempts to increase diversity for its own sake have ended up being discriminatory. [1]

If there are barriers stopping people contributing, these should be removed. I expect these to be economic barriers, rather than those based on particular characteristics.

[1] https://www.theregister.com/2018/05/03/llvm_contributor_resi...

[leidenfrost]

Why is it that whenever gender and identity is mentioned in a technical community suddenly people start talking about "ham-fisted" and forced inclusions?

There's nothing forced about people getting into programming and becoming relevant for it, that just by chance it turns out they are not cis+heterosexual.

Nobody in the Asahi crew was "a ham fisted attempt to increase diversity".

The only forced thing here is the "forced inclusion" topic. That, for whatever kind of reason, people stubbornly keep trying to bring to the front.

[epolanski]

I think the point is about many engineering orgs adding "minorities" for the sake of PR rather because these "minorities" are great resources.

It is obvious that there's terrific engineers and professionals regardless of sexual orientation and we have countless proofs behind it, last but not least the linked article and many of the other asahi contributors.

But when the likes or Google or Facebook are obviously hiring because you are a minority it's when the solution to gender or sexual discrimination is simply...reversed.

[catiopatio]

> Why is it that whenever gender and identity is mentioned in a technical community suddenly people start talking about "ham-fisted" and forced inclusions?

You answered your own question; it’s a technical community. Centering political activism is counterproductive to the fundamental telos of being a technical community.

Existing members, unsurprisingly, push back against colonization of their community by those more interested in gender ideology or identity politics than technology.

[okeuro49]

My point was criticising your underlying assumption that the lack of diversity is due to an unwelcoming environment, presumably as a result of intolerance to certain characteristics.