> It does not seem to be about women in tech generally but seems to boil down to the work of a few socio-/psychopaths caught in a feedback loop.
I think it's more than just a few and I think she's trying to broaden the scope by showing (fairly clearly) that outside of the BSD community these issues are pervasive.
Hard for me to judge if that's true or not but I'll take her word for it.
It is my honest belief that a few dedicated abusers can easily attract and steer an army of trolls. They feed on the affirmation of comments, upvote points, whatever. The worst ones enjoy hearing about the misery of their victims. Just look at how easily online groups can turn pro/contra certain issues.
A good friend of mine is biologically male, identifies as female though. He was public about that online and also due to other circumstances attracted a dedicated abuser. That abuser is so perfidious and persistent, that he (we assume) still manages to rally communities against my friend several years after it started.
A bit reluctant to bring this up since strictly speaking it's not quite on-topic, but you don't have an email address or other method of contact listed, and it's something I don't really want to ignore.
I don't want to presume too much here, but my question is, if your friend identifies as female, and you're aware that she does, why do you refer to her as "he"? From a lot of your comments I get the impression that you're not very aware of feminist issues in general, but even without that knowledge, doesn't it seem disrespectful towards your friend to call her that? If she identifies as a woman, why call her something she's not? If who we are is in our minds, why should the body take precedence?
I could say a lot worse, certainly, since I'm a trans woman myself. I know firsthand what it feels like to have people deny your identity day after day (really shitty, to clarify). Even so, I'm trying to at least be understanding here, rather than give a knee-jerk reaction.
I think it's more than just a few and I think she's trying to broaden the scope by showing (fairly clearly) that outside of the BSD community these issues are pervasive.
Hard for me to judge if that's true or not but I'll take her word for it.