Earlier today, I posted to my other blog, Gear Box Theory, about a situation that recently came up in the tech world that I feel regards appropriateness, in speech when in public, posts when on Twitter, and how we react to such things. I think it's worth repeating, so I'm reposting it here.
From Gear Box Theory: "Just another lesson in how being a tattle-tale on Twitter can get you fired"
Back now from my month-long, illness- and tax filing-induced hiatus. While I was otherwise occupied, I didn't miss the latest lesson on why it's not a good idea to use Twitter as your personal tattle-tale tool - it can literally get you fired.
So, here's the backstory on what some have called "Donglegate", for anyone who hasn't already about heard it:
A male developer attending a lecture at PyCon made a sexual-innuendo-laden joke to his male colleague, which was in turn overheard by a developer evangelist (female) in the row in front of them. While it doesn't seem like she was offended by the comment herself, she decided she would add "evangelist for women in tech everywhere" to her resume. Rather than turning around and asking the two men to please not make such comments within earshot of others who might find the comments offensive, she plastered a smile on her face and then took their picture, which she then posted to Twitter with her location in the lecture hall and a request for the PyCon organizers to come deal with the two developers.
It was at this point that the situation took on a life of its own. The developer who made the comment was fired (for reasons that most people, both male and female, cannot understand, as evidenced by this Forbes article). Then, because the Twitterverse blew up over the evangelist's initial post and the subsequent firing of the developer, the evangelist was also fired.
As a woman in the tech industry, I would like to request that this evangelist not take up this cause in my name, because I'm siding with the developer.
To me, this is not a case of man versus woman. This is a case of how not to act in the professional world.
It's my take that the developer who was fired knew his comment was not appropriate for the larger audience at that lecture, and he probably thought he said it quietly enough that only his co-worker heard him. And, while I don't think it's always appropriate to make such jokes in earshot of other people, dumb jokes sometimes happen. We've all made them from time-to-time. Sometimes they're funny, sometimes they're not. Few of us get fired over it.
The problem I have with this situation is in how the evangelist handled it. It was the equivalent of a first-grader running to their teacher to tattle on a pair of students who were making comments about another student, without telling the offending students directly that she didn't like their behavior. It's childish and full of cowardice. I would have fired her, too.
By taking the situation to Twitter, rather than addressing the two men directly, she instantly communicated that she is incapable of dealing with an uncomfortable situation on her own, and she is only interested in being a developer evangelist when it suits her. There was no chance that the greater developer community was going to want to work with her after that. Really, by posting what she posted to Twitter, she fired herself.
I won't argue that the developer should not have had any negative repercussions come from his actions. I think a verbal and written reprimand would suffice, with the possible addition of sensitivity training to cover any missed bases.
I also won't argue that the response to the evangelists actions on Twitter, responses which included rape and death threats, were appropriate. They weren't. The developer made a stupid joke, and the evangelist had an equally stupid reaction. And, really, all this situation did was make that guy famous and the evangelist infamous. Such threats are unnecessary and inappropriate.
I would argue against Toni Bowers's assertion that the developer, in the statement he released, was apologizing for getting caught making an inappropriate comment. He was reinforcing the age-old advice that we should think before we speak. This should always be the case. But, at the same time, I don't want to live in a world where every silly or stupid joke can throw a person's job into jeopardy, just because someone MIGHT be offended.
Sometimes, inappropriate comments are just plain funny. Grow a sense of humor, people.
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