Washington State University Linux geeks will have a nerd auction - O RLY?
A Slashdot headline caught my eye: Washington State LUG to Hold “Nerd Auction”
I went to the LUG’s site and saw an entry on “Nerdy and the Greek” from which I quote this:
Here’s the current plan: We’ll choose a handful of brave nerds to take one for the team. The girls get to have their way with them and we’ll document each makeover. We’ll make a snazzy video and show it over dinner. After the dinner, we’ll auction off the now studly nerds. Instead of being a social with the sorority, it will be targeted to the general population and co-hosted by the sorority. We may even sell tickets for it!
Uh… Right.
Maybe I am biased because I’ve never seen an episode of “Beauty and the Geek” but I guess auctioning people off is just too bizaare for me. Sure, there’s such a thing about setting up people on blind dates but this is waay too weird, if you ask me. I am not doubting the charms of the guys in the Linux users group. It’s just that I think that there are better ways of increasing female membership in a LUG.
One of them is to have a really open environment. For me and some other girls who use Linux, we get discouraged when men approach us just because we are female and sometimes treat us as if we don’t know anything about computers. We might not know everything. But the same goes for any person regardless of gender.
Another good thing is to encourage us girls to join other activities that the LUG might have. There are ways to socialize. Sometimes it’s more of the socializing that makes it critical to get members into a LUG. And I actually like one of the comments suggested on their site:
Have other clubs do joint presentations to show how Linux is awesome for their interests. Get your requested sorority to do a ‘how to pick up chicks’ chat as a panel. If you want to bring in the sci-fi/anime cosplayers, have a Linux-tan contest. Make it silly and focused on the usefulness of Linux as an OS, and that would be more fun than a fancy dinner.
I’d like to think theat this nerd auction is really to get more women interested in the LUG, and not just a way for these guys to get the girls. After all, it’s great to be in a community where you are valued not for your gender but because of your interest in the same things, as well as your contributions.
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