Thus spake J.D. Falk (jdfalk@mail-abuse.org):
I don't want to start a flamewar here, and I don't really care that much myself, but I'd just like to point out that if anyone started a "men in networking" list, they'd be immediately flamed and lambasted by people of both sexes.
But what would be the point of such a list? To discuss the effects of single mode fiber on prostate health? I don't see how there would be any interest. During the early 90s, when sexual harassment suits were in vogue, and when self-annointed "diversity facilitators" were milking corporations and universities left and right, I used to resent the presumptuous idea of people booking lecture halls [I was a student at the time] and forming groups to essentially air dirty laundry under the auspices of conducting legitimate academic discussions. But it would be even more presumptuous to entertain the idea of stopping them. This effort seems different. It's a voluntary thing, and having worked around several of the kinds of people that make a woman's work environment less than inviting, I can understand where efforts like this are coming from. NANOG is not an inappropriate forum to announce it. NANOG is also *not* an inappropriate forum to announce a "Men in Networking" discussion list; the only difference is that whereas the women's list would draw interest from a few women, the men's list would likely draw no interest whatsoever. Not unlike something as silly as "White People in Networking." --John