"On the Internet, no one knows you're a dog"

When the question is "does the code work?" it doesn't matter what color the author's skin is, what they think about politics or religion, whom or what they indulge their physical needs with.

We used to think that was a good thing. I can't see how it became bad.

https://www.linuxfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/LFResearc...

"36% have experienced some sort of stereotyping behavior based on perceived demographic characteristics.

17% experienced exclusionary behaviors occasionally or frequently.

Women, non-binary, LGBQ+, and people with disabilities were 2X as likely to have experienced threats of violence in the context of an open source project. Transgender respondents were 3X as likely.

People who do not feel welcome in open source are from disproportionately underrepresented groups."

Linux started out in in Usenet. Any woman, for example, could have posted the sources that Linus posted. Even with hypothetical sexism, this woman could have used a pseudonym. I bet that most people hadn't met Linus in person for many years.

Yet very few women have done any of this. I do acknowledge that in some communities like Python there are so many weird people (especially the hypocrites that say they are inclusive are often creepy and boorish politicians), but the Linux people have always been straightforward. No weirdness there.