It is offensive to many people (both male and female) when someone automatically assumes that an "unknown" person is male.
though not offended, it does tell me a lot about the person making the assumption. and it ain't positive. but that nanog is yet another male dominated technical culture (yamdtc) should surprise no one here. on the other hand, the level of immature rudeness exhibited (remember when abha posted about the geekgirls list?) can be *extremely* embarrassing, and some folk can insist on making utter asses of themselves. but, sad to say, none of this should surprise women. not to say that women and men should not stand up against it when it occurs. we now return you to small operators trying to convince other small operators how they should run the route filters in their shops. imiho, if it is not automated by protocol, banana eaters will screw it up for sure. so, again imiho, this topic is about as likely to make progress as serious gender equity in my lifetime <sigh>. randy