Lately I’ve been working on how to make groups, events, and projects more inclusive. This goes beyond diversity — having a demographic mix of participants — and gets to the heart of how and why people get involved, or don’t get involved, with things. As I see it, there are six steps everyone needs to pass through, to get from never having heard of a thing to being deeply involved in it. These six steps happen in chronological order, starting from someone who knows nothing Continue reading → I’ve been making linocuts. Meet Grace Hopper. She’s a complete badass. (click image for a larger view) She was 37 years old and working as a mathematics professor when Pearl Harbour happened. She joined the Navy and was set to work on the first ever general-purpose electro-mechanical computer, the Harvard Mark I. She invented the compiler (used to translate computer programs written by humans into ones and zeroes that the computer can understand), created one of the most widely used programming languages of the 20th Continue reading → I recently put together this reading list on queer intersectionality for a local LGBTIQ group, as part of thinking about how we can serve a wider community of same-sex attracted and gender diverse folks. I thought it might be useful to share it more widely. For context, this is a 101 level reading list for people with a bare understanding of the concept of intersectionality. If you’re not familiar with that you might want to read Wikipedia’s article on intersectionality. Interview with Kimberlé Crenshaw, who Continue reading → So this happened. I like to think that in another, better, universe, it went like this: When we launched Google+ over three years ago, we had a lot of restrictions on what name you could use on your profile. This helped create a community made up of people who matched our expectations about what a “real” person was, but excluded many other real people, with real identities and real names that we didn’t understand. We apologise unreservedly to those people, who through our actions were Continue reading → Through May/June I was travelling in the US, to a number of feminist and tech events including WisCon, AdaCamp and Open Source Bridge. I gave talks, ran unconference sessions, and sat on panels at each event, as well as talking to lots of smart people doing good stuff. In between, I hung out with remote colleagues and met new ones in spaces like San Francisco’s feminist hackerspace Double Union. Along the way, I made three realisations, all of which are related to community in some Continue reading → I finally got around to uploading the second set of slides from my talks at Open Source Bridge, so here they are. First up, Knitting for Programmers teaches you how to knit something more interesting than a rectangle, using geometry and common design patterns. You can also view on Speakerdeck or download the PDF. Secondly, Feminist Point of View: A Geek Feminist Retrospective was a review of the 6 years of the Geek Feminism wiki and blog, and the lessons we’ve learned from doing this. Continue reading → I emerged from WisCon last weekend invigorated and inspired (and, okay, a bit sleep deprived). I have a whole lot of new things I want to work on, in addition to all the things I’m already doing, and I thought I might just take the time to write down what my current projects are, since I realised that even I don’t have a clear idea of them all, let alone making them clear to other people. And so: Growstuff – founder and tech lead on Continue reading → This is probably going to be a wildly unpopular opinion and IDGAF. So many of my non-technical friends are freaking out that I feel the need to provide a bit of reassurance/reality. First, an analogy. In 2005 we learned that you can open a Kryptonite U-lock with a ballpoint pen. Everyone freaked out and changed their bike locks ASAP. Remember that? Now, I wasn’t riding a bike at the time, but I started riding a bike a few years later in San Francisco, and I Continue reading → As you might know, I’ve been working on 3000 Acres over the last few months. My time there is almost up and they’re looking for volunteers to continue developing the site. If anyone in the Melbourne area is interested in working with me on this, and then taking it over, please get in touch! It would be a great way to get involved in a tech project for sustainability/social good, and the 3000 Acres team are lovely people with a great vision. Feel free to Continue reading → This holiday season I’ve had a few Australian friends travelling in the US, and something I’ve seen repeatedly on Twitter is, basically, this: America, Y U NO HAVE POSTOFFICES?! — lianaskewes (@lianasmooz) January 2, 2014 So, here is a guide for US post offices, aimed at Australians. I’m qualified to write this because I had exactly this experience when I moved there. It went something like this. Me, to office manager: “Hey, where’s the nearest post office?” Office manager: “Uh… I think there might be Continue reading →