Matt Staggs has a very good post about communicating openly and honestly on the internet. Jeff VanderMeer then declares Global Blogosphere Amnesty Week (for Apologies). I think it’s a good meme — we all probably have something we should apologise for. There are no doubt other things, but right now this is what I apologise for:
- I apologise for the times when I’ve not considered a question carefully and given it a full, careful and considered answer. Tiredness is no excuse;
- I apologise for the times when I’ve been offensive or dismissive when responding to questions about what I do or what I’ve done; and
- I sincerely apologise for ever using the term ‘gender blindness’. It was insensitive (lack of awareness is no defence), inappropriate, and failed to convey what was intended. I am now very much aware of what it means and would not ever use it again.
And I apologize for being snarky on the post where you first used the term. Unremitting snark doesn’t help these conversations, and I should know better.
Thank you. I appreciate it. I think communicating online is much trickier than it appears. An enormous amount of what is said would be said differently if everyone was talking to someone face to face. You tend to lose something of the human dimension online.
I’m a veteran of quite a number of flamewars: I’m entirely aware of that. Heck, I wrote How Not to Be An Asshole on the Internet; you’d think I’d remember that stuff.