Dear Carmen,


I certainly do not want to continue eternally this conversation so I am not going to respond point by point, but only a quick answer on the issue of discriminationGod knows I sometimes feel

like I'm cheating the system and just winging it rather than having any
substantial merit. How could I not, when every day I encounter some
software thing I know absolutely nothing about?
This is at the heart of working learning and developing, no one knows everything, we all have different skills and intelligences. It is always very difficult to find oneself in front of the unknown, even more for those who lack community support, it does not mean in any case that the position is not merited quite the contrary it takes a lot of courage to go where one is not expected.


On 09/05/2017 10:31 AM, discussion-request@lists.fsfe.org wrote:
People of all ethnicities and genders are
equals, and I will treat them as equals without any prejudice.  If that
is not enough, I do not know what is.
I would rather say people of all ethnicities and genders are born equal, but the problem is that they immediately loose this because of social unfairness (look at the chances of baby survival versus income or race or gender for example), so well no in real life not everyone is equal society creates many inequalities, this is why some programs are organized to compensate for them, not only this is not discrimination, but it is also very productive for society since supporting a little the ones who have less chances to access privileged social position is very rewarding to society as it is very little investment to support someone who will bring a lot of knew knowledge.

On 09/05/2017 10:31 AM, discussion-request@lists.fsfe.org wrote:
What you probably mean, is that squabbles occur less often in diverse
environments.  That is an interesting point of view, but I cannot vouch
one way or the other.  I do not know.  I imagine the opposite, because
this increases the surface area of things that people do not have in
common and may thus fight over, but that's just a silly hypothesis.

As for diversity it appears that an overly homogeneous community risks fragmentation from those who refuse and stagnation from the lack of contribution. The chief advantage of diversity is the opportunity to learn from someone with a different background and perspective and to share that knowledge. This is why diversity is essential in a healthy society and even if diversity leads to squabbles learning how to solve them is really rewarding.

Heart
natacha