On 06/19/2013 12:21 PM, Yoav Nir wrote:
On Jun 19, 2013, at 10:12 PM, Doug Barton <dougb(_at_)dougbarton(_dot_)us>
wrote:
We can point to all kinds of examples that are outside the IETF of where
various biases exist. It's not at all clear that the existence of those
problems elsewhere corresponds to any actual problem within our organization.
Looking at how similar problems were solved in other places could help us
figure out how to solve such problems in the IETF.
Of course, but we have to be sure that the problems really are similar
first.
And Academia is much more similar to the IETF than is the state of Alabama.
Yeah, but so what? That's like saying that avocados and oranges are more
similar than avocados and rocks. But if I want to make guacamole I
better be able to differentiate the different kinds of fruit.
I'm not trying to be pedantic for its own sake here. It is genuinely
important to understand the population you are working with if you're
going to address social issues. Concepts (and more importantly
solutions) that are relevant for one group may very well not be
applicable to another group because the populations differ in subtle but
important ways.
Doug