<p>How can we intercede against harassment without, first, defining it?</p>
<p>I'm not making any rules. I never even suggested such a thing. It's a kneejerk reaction that makes you even see that happening here. I am adopting that policy for my own use in Noisebridge space, and in the process attempting to codify established social norms. Anyone wishing to interact with me has a clear and referrable index for what types of behaviors I desire from default mode.</p>
<p>You make a robot, and I'll publish my policy, and let's see which works to keep creepers off my ass.... except language is a system of technology and so in some ways that policy is my robot. It's already built and running. Let me know when you finish yours.</p>
<p>BTW I just used your home system to run my robot. PWN!</p>
<div class="gmail_quote">On Jul 27, 2012 9:14 PM, "Danny O'Brien" <<a href="mailto:danny@spesh.com">danny@spesh.com</a>> wrote:<br type="attribution"><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
On Fri, Jul 27, 2012 at 08:01:37PM -0700, Liz Henry wrote:<br>
> Lots of food for thought there, Rachel!<br>
><br>
> On the idea of a no-harassment code, I think one could be useful for<br>
> us. Not harassing people is in theory covered under "be excellent".<br>
> Expanding that with a list of some specific anti-patterns means that<br>
> people could feel a little more confident their concerns will be heard<br>
> and their presence in the space defended.<br>
><br>
<br>
I actually kind of disagree with this approach, not because of the idea<br>
behind it, but because of the impossibility of raising to the same level<br>
as a rule (or even a code of conduct) any literal statement beyond "be<br>
excellent" in the Noisebridge community.<br>
<br>
People who don't really understand Noisebridge's cultural discomfort<br>
with explicit rules are bound to interpret that failure as meaning that<br>
culturally we don't care about such harassment, Whereas in fact about<br>
the only times we've stood united to act was when such harassment was<br>
potentially an issue: I think every time we've banned or asked, as a<br>
community, someone to leave, it's been because of concerns of this<br>
nature.<br>
<br>
I think it's setting us up to fail, and fail in a way we don't actually<br>
reflect internally, to try and haggle over explicit language. Like many<br>
geek communities, we suck at all of this, but we don't *actually* suck<br>
worse because we can't get it together to not argue about the precise<br>
wording.*<br>
<br>
I'd much rather continue to work on improving the ways we continue to<br>
actively intercede with harassment, including role-playing it<br>
(interceding, not the harassment), building up the habit of backing each<br>
other up, seeding communities within the wider community, and giant<br>
robots that electrocute people.<br>
<br>
d.<br>
<br>
> It doesn't matter that it's not "enforceable" any more than "be<br>
> excellent" is.<br>
><br>
> When I see a positive statement from an organization that they welcome<br>
> (laundry list of non-dominant culture identities), or one that they<br>
> don't tolerate harassment or hate on (laundry list), personally, I do<br>
> feel more welcome and more confident that I can be in that space. It<br>
> increases my social trust.<br>
><br>
> Like you, I prefer a transformative approach, mediation, and discussion<br>
> in most situations.<br>
><br>
> Here is my addition to your suggested code.<br>
><br>
> ----<br>
><br>
> Noisebridge as a community does not tolerate harassment. Harassment<br>
> includes offensive verbal comments related to gender, sexual<br>
> orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race,<br>
> ethnicity, religion, housing status, social class. It also includes<br>
> deliberate intimidation, stalking, following, inappropriate physical<br>
> contact, and unwelcome sexual attention. Participants asked to stop any<br>
> harassing behavior are expected to do so immediately. We are a diverse<br>
> community and thus it is especially important that we listen to, and<br>
> respect, each others' boundaries.<br>
><br>
><br>
><br>
> Cheers,<br>
><br>
> Liz<br>
><br>
><br>
> On 7/27/12 6:11 PM, rachel lyra hospodar wrote:<br>
> > I have been thinking a lot about what went down this week, and the<br>
> > ramifications for Noisebridge. Noisebridge itself, let's remember, is<br>
> > a technology. A tool. It is a system of organizing things that<br>
> > serves a goal. That goal? It varies for its various users, but my<br>
> > impression of the consensus is this: encouraging the creative use of<br>
> > technology. That means disseminating technological skills, creating<br>
> > access to technological tools, but most importantly, disseminating the<br>
> > "hacker" mindset of creative problem solving. There seems to be a<br>
> > consensus around radical inclusivity. There is definitely a consensus<br>
> > around being open to the public, around the idea of *public* access to<br>
> > this space being important.<br>
> ><br>
> > i am going to start with some things I take as given, and would like<br>
> > for you to examine them.<br>
> ><br>
> > -Systems evolve in a similar way to organic life forms.<br>
> > -Societies are systems that we use to offload cognitive processing to<br>
> > the cloud. Through a set of shared agreements, we are able to create<br>
> > a piece of software that runs without using our primary processor.<br>
> > Cool, huh? An example of this is the set of shared cultural contexts<br>
> > that allow you to walk down a busy street without getting hit by a<br>
> > car.<br>
> > -An organism may persist even if it is operating inefficiently.<br>
> > -Over time, the types of organisms that exist most plentifully will<br>
> > be those that functioned the most efficiently.<br>
> > -it is inefficient to discard most of your resources without even<br>
> > assessing their potential. Some of them probably could have<br>
> > contributed to the efficient function of your organism.<br>
> > -Human society, while imperfect, is still wobbling along functioning<br>
> > as our cloud. America is a bounded instance of an attempt to improve<br>
> > on that model. Noisebridge is the same.<br>
> ><br>
> > OK. So then what?<br>
> ><br>
> > Human society, American society, our society, a cloud that in<br>
> > aggregate still runs great portions of Noisebridge, is constantly<br>
> > discarding most of its human resources without assessing their<br>
> > potential. How many awesome hackers are languishing in a ghetto in<br>
> > New Delhi, or in prison cells all over America? How many are among us<br>
> > right now, walking all around us, and not even knowing they are<br>
> > hackers?<br>
> ><br>
> > At least twice as many as we've got right now.<br>
> ><br>
> > We don't even have to spring them from prison. We don't even have to<br>
> > fly to India to visit them. We just have to stop telling them they are<br>
> > not hackers. We don't even have to tell them that they are hackers<br>
> > (although that helps). They will figure it out on their own. After<br>
> > all, they are hackers.<br>
> ><br>
> > We can't really that easily help the dude who is hacking his<br>
> > toothbrush into a shank in solitary lockdown. We don't need to.<br>
> > Well, we do. Fuck, we do. But there aren't as many of us as there<br>
> > are prison guards, keeping him in there. Maybe if there were more<br>
> > hackers we could figure out how to hack the prison industrial complex.<br>
> > Fortunately, there are a bunch of extra hackers, among us right now,<br>
> > walking all around us, and not even knowing they are hackers.<br>
> ><br>
> > At least twice as many.<br>
> ><br>
> > We don't even have to spring them from prison.<br>
> ><br>
> > We don't even have to fly to India to visit them.<br>
> ><br>
> > We just have to stop telling them they are not hackers.<br>
> ><br>
> > Did you know that every time someone who is openly female contributes<br>
> > to the linux kernel she gets explicit harassing messages from a<br>
> > particular individual? I found that out this past week. Sigh, yawn,<br>
> > how terrible and annoying and I didn't do it and I didn't get those<br>
> > messages so why should I care?<br>
> ><br>
> > It's costing us half our hackers, friend.<br>
> ><br>
> > Jesse Z said explicitly on Tuesday that the reason he has been<br>
> > harassing me is because he doesn't think I'm a hacker. I came to<br>
> > noisebridge to find collaborators and technical advice and equipment<br>
> > for my open source interface project. I project managed a<br>
> > consensus-based website build for OWS which was kind of like herding<br>
> > cats in the middle of a riot. I've taught scores of artists how to use<br>
> > wiki to manage shared projects. I'm a fucking hacker. I actually<br>
> > founded a sewing/art hackspace in Oakland thankyouvery much, where a<br>
> > group of us pool our resources to create and maintain a space for<br>
> > creative use of technology, and a set of tools for the sustainable<br>
> > creation of micro-climate pods that enable humans to settle areas<br>
> > outside of their narrow evolutionary band. Pretty cool, huh? What<br>
> > tech is that? Clothes. I'm a fucking hacker.<br>
> ><br>
> > Why do I even have to defend my hackerness in this message? I don't,<br>
> > actually. I am confident in my social standing as a hacker badass in<br>
> > this community. Or not, whatever. You don't have to like me. Just<br>
> > get out of my way. So why am I even defending myself in this message?<br>
> > Because when someone calls up a shitty piece of software that's<br>
> > running on my cloud, I am forced to run it too. Even when it says<br>
> > things that my local software knows are bullshit. The cloud knows<br>
> > better, man. You are running what it fucking tells you or you can't<br>
> > even use the damn internet.<br>
> ><br>
> > So,<br>
> ><br>
> > Until we live in a society that does not exclude women from technology<br>
> > spaces, anytime we want to be in technology spaces we are shaped by<br>
> > that absence. Those of us who are paying attention will be the ones<br>
> > waving our arms and going "hey this dude's a fucking creep" and by<br>
> > fucking creep we mean "excluding scores of potential hackers through<br>
> > wildly antisocial behavior". Those of you who are not paying<br>
> > attention to the way that technology spaces are shaped by the absence<br>
> > of women are still being affected by it. You're the ones wondering<br>
> > why I don't want to talk to you while I am trying to get work done.<br>
> > It's because I have to constantly deflect vaguely sexual attention to<br>
> > even be in public. No, I am not being melodramatic. When I walk down<br>
> > the street I have my backpack on and am walking all purposeful and the<br>
> > way I dress looks like a dude from far away. I don't wear a lot of<br>
> > little dresses. Why do you think that is? i look good in a little<br>
> > dress, too. In a space like Noisebridge, where we all have our guard<br>
> > down a little bit more, it seems socially acceptable to come over and<br>
> > interrupt what I am doing to demand that I tell you about it... but in<br>
> > that moment my choice is do my work, or entertain you. I'm happy to<br>
> > chat, I love people, so sometimes this is ok. How can you tell when<br>
> > it is ok or not? There are systems that we use culturally to keep us<br>
> > from killing each other. When they mismatch a little, it's annoying<br>
> > and i am sending social cues that you are ignoring, and you are<br>
> > sending social cues that I don't like. When they mismatch a lot,<br>
> > sometimes that is categorized as rape. Oh, and also sometimes people<br>
> > are dicks.<br>
> ><br>
> > So let's be clear about how people are supposed to behave in public at<br>
> > noisebridge, and then be firm about people who aren't doing that. Not<br>
> > because we are not all beautiful little snowflakes with a right to act<br>
> > however we choose (we are!) but because of triage. The chilling<br>
> > effect of one harassing individual over many months is pronounced - it<br>
> > costs us many potential hackers. We are committed to radical<br>
> > inclusivity, and acknowledge that all humans deserve community, even<br>
> > those with whom we do not agree. That doesn't mean we need to let<br>
> > them shit in our punchbowl or hog all the punch. We can tell them to<br>
> > stop drinking the punch before they drown in the bile of their own<br>
> > chronic liver failure. They probably won't stop until we take the<br>
> > damn punch bowl away, and we'll feel like an asshole for taking it<br>
> > away, but at least that way a couple other people can have punch too.<br>
> ><br>
> > Do we need felony assault charges to tell us someone is being a dick?<br>
> > Do we use the court system to arbitrate who is allowed in our space?<br>
> > No. We are smarter than that BS, right? That's the system that put<br>
> > all those hackers in jail in the first place.<br>
> ><br>
> > I am adopting a version of the <a href="http://adainitiative.org/" target="_blank">http://adainitiative.org/</a> policy - it<br>
> > explicitly defines a behavioral standard so that everyone knows what<br>
> > is expected of them. Their research (on tech conferences in<br>
> > particular) indicated:<br>
> > Often, the person doing the groping or harassing honestly believed<br>
> > that their behavior was acceptable for the venue. Just as often, many<br>
> > other people went on record agreeing with them.<br>
> > People who saw these incidents didn’t know how to respond to these<br>
> > incidents or weren’t sure who to report them to.<br>
> > Conference organizers sometimes didn’t learn about an incident<br>
> > until long after it happened. When they did find out in time to take<br>
> > action, they often didn’t know how to respond to the incident.<br>
> ><br>
> > Below is my first draft, 2 simple sentences. Feel free to suggest<br>
> > changes. For this to work in our community it needs to be widely<br>
> > supported. I expect some of you to mock the fact that I feel a need<br>
> > to write this very serious email. For all of you who wish you didn't<br>
> > have to take this so seriously, well, so do I. You just have a choice<br>
> > about it. I don't. And that, in a nutshell, is privilege.<br>
> ><br>
> > Harassment includes offensive verbal comments [related to gender,<br>
> > sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race,<br>
> > religion, housing status[your specific concern here]], deliberate<br>
> > intimidation, stalking, following, inappropriate physical contact, and<br>
> > unwelcome sexual attention. Participants asked to stop any harassing<br>
> > behavior are expected to do so immediately.<br>
> ><br>
> > R.<br>
> ><br>
> > Further reading - I really enjoyed reading this review about<br>
> > transformative justice:<br>
> > <a href="http://uppingtheanti.org/journal/article/13-work-transform/" target="_blank">http://uppingtheanti.org/journal/article/13-work-transform/</a><br>
> > It says:<br>
> > Transformative justice is about community transformation, not<br>
> > retribution. While it can be cathartic to treat people who cause harm<br>
> > as “monsters” who need to be “punished,” proponents of transformative<br>
> > justice argue that we should develop skills to compassionately support<br>
> > perpetrators. The goal is to help perpetrators take responsibility for<br>
> > their actions without enabling or minimizing their abusive behaviour,<br>
> > and also learn to transform the social conditions that supported the<br>
> > abuse in the first place.<br>
> ><br>
> ><br>
> > Oh, and here's a bonus.<br>
> > <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill/2012/07/25/online-tracker-led-rapist-to-his-victim/" target="_blank">http://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill/2012/07/25/online-tracker-led-rapist-to-his-victim/</a><br>
> > _______________________________________________<br>
> > Noisebridge-discuss mailing list<br>
> > <a href="mailto:Noisebridge-discuss@lists.noisebridge.net">Noisebridge-discuss@lists.noisebridge.net</a><br>
> > <a href="https://www.noisebridge.net/mailman/listinfo/noisebridge-discuss" target="_blank">https://www.noisebridge.net/mailman/listinfo/noisebridge-discuss</a><br>
> ><br>
><br>
><br>
> --<br>
><br>
> ------------------------<br>
> Liz Henry<br>
> <a href="mailto:liz@bookmaniac.org">liz@bookmaniac.org</a><br>
> <a href="http://bookmaniac.org" target="_blank">http://bookmaniac.org</a><br>
><br>
> "Without models, it's hard to work; without a context, difficult to<br>
> evaluate; without peers, nearly impossible to speak." -- Joanna Russ<br>
> _______________________________________________<br>
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