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Path: utzoo!linus!philabs!prls!amdimage!amdcad!decwrl!chabot@amber.DEC (All God's chillun got guns)
From: chabot@amber.DEC (All God's chillun got guns)
Newsgroups: net.women
Subject: Re: men dominate net.women (flame-ish)
Message-ID: <37@decwrl.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 20-Aug-85 16:11:05 EDT
Article-I.D.: decwrl.37
Posted: Tue Aug 20 16:11:05 1985
Date-Received: Fri, 23-Aug-85 08:32:46 EDT
Sender: daemon@decwrl.UUCP
Organization: Digital Equipment Corporation
Lines: 47

Well, Andy, your letter doesn't really treat with the issue that men do 
dominate net.women.

The biggest issue is that females are outnumbered by males on the network.
Hence more posters are men than women.  Also, more silent readers are men.

So what.

What is closer to the issue is that many who might post here do not feel 
comfortable because of the tenor of the net.  I'm sure this is true in many 
other newsgroups, where the rabid anti-foos post to net.foo, and many of the
quieter foos just don't feel like participating in all the posting of 
profanity and ranting, or rather, don't feel like even posting anything nice
and calm in the midst of all the mud-slinging.

Accusing women of being too chicken to post to net.women, is an idiotic thing
to do.  I'm mad too.  So there.  So what.  Go suck eggs.

What I'm always perplexed by is the ever-recurring attitude by some men that
net.women is a place for them to post "How I Think Women Should Act".  Look,
buckos, women don't give a hoot if you approve of what you think women should
dress like--if you want to say what you look for in a motas, go bother the
people in net.singles who are likely to be just as bored by your personal
preferences.  Besides, what do you think women are here for:  looking for 
recognition and approval by Men?

> Karla, I am never going to step aside and let someone have what I 
> have worked for, *just* because they are famale, or black or have six toes.

I don't have to prove I'm anyone's equal and I certainly don't care if anyone
decides to withhold such approval.  Andy, do tell us just how much you've 
worked for the right to post to the net, but maybe this is rather a topic
for net.news or net.news.group.  This isn't a football field, and we're not
playing a team or competitive sport, and your analogy's stale.  Just how
does Affirmative Action relate to net.women, other than as a topic of 
discussion?  Has anyone threatened to deprive you of being allowed to post
to net.women because of, say, quotas?

However, if this is how you (anybody out there) view net.women or any other 
net newsgroup, then this would explain a good deal.  If competition is the
way to go, if the idea is not to appreciate the postings of others but rather
to post one better, this would explain a lot.  This might explain the cheap
pot-shots taken at thoughtful articles.  This would explain the absurd cycling
over and over about who does what wrong in the bathroom or in the office or
on the streets, past the point of humor or wit.

L S Chabot   ...decwrl!dec-rhea!dec-amber!chabot   chabot%amber.dec@decwrl.arpa