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Get my notes ready

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So, uh, part of the theme this year is

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"Perl the Next Generation"

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and what will the next generation of

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Perl people look like?

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And before I can answer that

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I think we first have to answer this:

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"what do we want them to look like?"

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and before we can answer that

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we have to know what we look like right now.

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So — and why.

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So we're going to take a little poll

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So first off please everyone that can stand

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please stand up and if you can't stand up

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just raise your hand.

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A little exercise in the morning.

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Oh God!

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Yeah I've got to stand here for 45 minutes.

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[laughter]

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So this is our control, everyone's that's

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gonna stand up stand up.

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Looks like everyone has stand up, good.

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So, whoever wants to take a picture

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do it right now.

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Now I'd like everyone who does not identify as a guy

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to sit down and put your hand up.

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Now if there's any question:

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your choice, seriously.

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All right, now look around.

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This is the question I want ask you is

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why is this room overwhelmingly full of guys?

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[laughter and applause]

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Why are there?

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I can make a bet that there are probably

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more Michaels here than women.

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It's funny but it's also very sad.

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All right, thanks, have a seat.

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So how can we talk about the next generation

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when this room looks more like my Dad's generation?

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So Perl is — and Open Source in general —

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is overwhelmingly full of guys.

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And why is that?

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And you might think well just because computing

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is in general dominated by guys.

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Or maybe that we're just better at math or something

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because you know Perl programming

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involves a whole lot of math right?

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Or basically that we're just reflecting

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a larger problem that's out of our control.

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But it turns out it's not true.

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There's been some fantastic data on this

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from an organization called FLOSSPOLS.

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Commercial software is about 28% female.

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Open Source is somewhere between 2 and 6.

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Pretty consistently. So, what the hell?

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And we could talk all day about

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the exact numbers

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I really don't do that right now.

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We'd be just be arguing about whether

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it's merely terrible or truly appalling.

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But no matter how you feel about the topic

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there is one conclusion you can draw from this

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without argument or judgement

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which is quite simply that

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Open Source is doing something to lose women.

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And like it or not we have to face that

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and decide what we're going to do about it.

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But honestly this isn't really about women.

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The problem isn't "how do we get more women?"

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or it's not even "why are there so many men?"

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The problem is "why are we so damn homogenous?"

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[laughter and applause]

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And despite knowing that there is a problem

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— I didn't think you people would be so

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chipper in the mornings

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[laughter]

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you're laughing at my jokes —

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and being so concerned about it

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we remain homogenous.

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I came into Perl in 1995.

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I can't do math right now but that was a while ago.

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And we look basically the same as we did then

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maybe a little worse.

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There's more of us but basically it's

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made up of the same type of people.

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Ah and there's so many other points of diversity

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I could go on about besides gender.

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I could talk about race, language, time zone,

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physical ability, economics, education, culture and so on.

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Ah but quite honestly

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gender is so damn obvious that that's what I'm going to use

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and I only have 45 minutes.

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So apologies for not covering all the axes,

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there's a lot of them.

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So, if Perl and Open Source have one thing in common

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it's their belief in the meritocracy

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the idea that you should be judged

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based on your merits

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your code and your contributions

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not on how much money you have

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or say your gender or whatever else.

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It's all about the code, your contributions,

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your work and so on and so forth.

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If we had a healthy meritocracy

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this room would be about 28% women

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matching commercial IT and I'd be talking about something else.

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If we had a healthy meritocracy we'd have

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28% female speakers.

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I had to do some guessing on the gender

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so my apologies if I got anybody wrong.

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If this were a healthy meritocracy

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we would have had at least one female

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[??] by now.

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And it really pains me to say this but

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our meritocracy is broken.

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[applause]

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And like I said this isn't really about women

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this is about us.

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This is about — demographic diversity is the

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canary in the coal mine.

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Gender is simply easy to track.

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It's the most obvious thing in front of our face.

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If gender is out of whack

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if demographic diversity is out of whack

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then there's a good chance that other things are as well.

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And have we optimised ourselves for

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thick-skinned male library developers?

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[laughter]

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And even now beyond that

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if we're doing something to drive away women

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who else are we driving away?

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What other sorts of people?

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What ideas are we losing?

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And what viewpoints and skills?

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So who do we tend to have trouble

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finding in the Perl community?

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And what skills are underrepresented?

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Tech writers, mobile developers, Windows users,

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yeah how often do you need to fix something

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on Windows and you can't find anybody?

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Grant writers, interface designers, community managers,

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GUI developers, new programmers,

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new to Perl programmers,

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conference organizers, graphic designers,

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teachers, trainers

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— my list is cut off at the bottom —

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[flicks pages]

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young folks, old folks,

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marketing people, business people.

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All of these skills are needed

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for a healthy language community.

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And when I talk about growing the Perl community

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I don't mean just more of the same.

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I mean different kinds of people.

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Different ideas, different thoughts,

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different viewpoints.

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So we can adapt and change and grow

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and be healthy as the world around us

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and technology changes.

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If we don't change with it

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we just get left behind.

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So, I don't want to turn this into

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a finger-pointing guilt-fest.

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Because I know when I was kind of struck with all this

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many moons ago

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I you know felt the weight of

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you know white male privilege coming down on me

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or you know not weight, shouldn't go off script,

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[laughter]

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So I believe that the people in this community

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are overwhelmingly good people.

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And I view it as something like this:

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we have a small chunk of loud-mouth assholes

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and a vast majority are good people

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who just kind of want to be left alone to code

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and not think about this stuff.

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And then a small chunk who do want to think

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about this stuff.

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And unfortunately the people in the middle

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sometimes are a little loud

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about how much they don't want

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to think about this stuff.

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And the problem is

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not that we're bad people

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or that we do awful things.

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The problem is that we're so damn alike.

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Back to homogeny.

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That 95% in the middle that's

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primarily male library developers and sysadmins

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who are thick-skinned, socially passive,

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and don't want to hear about community issues.

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[laughter and applause]

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So I'm glad this is going —

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homogeny breeds more homogeny,

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it's inbreeding.

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And unless you do something about it

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it just doesn't go away.

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So it's perfectly natural to want

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to make a community that

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you're comfortable in.

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One that works for you and your friends.

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But if your friends are all like you

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and if the same things make them comfortable

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and uncomfortable

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if you all want the same things

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then you're going to optimise the community for them.

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If you — the more you optimize for you and your friends

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and people like you

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the less it will work for people on the fringes.

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And they will start to leave.

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And they will start to, they will not come back.

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It's very easy to put your head down

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and just write code and not notice

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that their voices and opinions and ideas

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will get quieter and quieter.

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Individuals will come and be made uncomfortable

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and leave.

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And without being able to build up

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enough people to get themselves heard.

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Until one day there's more Michaels than women.

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And we're all just agreeing with each other

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while the rest of the world moves on

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and forgets about us.

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And that is why I think this room is full of white guys.

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[laughter]

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So the women are sick of trying to tell us this

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And it's about time the guys started to deal

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with their own crap.

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And I'm sick of the situation after 17 years in Perl.

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And I'm sick of seeing my friends leave

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or be immediately turned off.

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I'm sick of seeing people told they

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just have to deal with it.

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Or if they don't like it

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they should go start their own group.

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I am really not the best person for the job.

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I've honestly been freaking out about

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this keynote for months.

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And I'm really glad you were laughing.

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[laughter]

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And I'm not the first person to

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come up with anything that I'm going to tell you.

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But I was given the keynote spot

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and this is all too important to ignore.

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And there are so many things that

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I want to talk to you about this subject.

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Systematic discrimination and privilege

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being two huge issues I unfortunately won't be covering

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because I don't have time to do them right.

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So I'm going to do the best I can

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to get the most of you I can

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thinking about the problem

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and deciding if you want to solve it

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and how you're going to solve it.

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Because you are smart people, you're good people

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and you're very good at solving problems.

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But once you understand it's a problem

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and once you decide it's worth solving.

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So I'm also going cover some solutions

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I'm not just going to berate you all day.

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And solutions that we can do as a group

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and that we can do as individuals.

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In order to do that, first I need to bring up

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a really touchy topic,

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one that you probably have very strong feelings about

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and it might divide the community just by bringing it up.

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I am of course referring to Star Trek captains.

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[laughter and scattered applause]

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So, let's take another little poll

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you don't need to stand up this time.

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Raise your hand, you can vote more than once,

272
00:11:17,730 --> 00:11:19,437
you can raise your hand more than once.

273
00:11:19,437 --> 00:11:22,682
Raise your hand for Kirk.

274
00:11:22,682 --> 00:11:24,178
OK.

275
00:11:24,178 --> 00:11:26,555
Piccard?

276
00:11:26,555 --> 00:11:29,061
Oh wow, OK, excellent, that's a good sign.

277
00:11:29,061 --> 00:11:30,971
Uh, Cisco?

278
00:11:30,971 --> 00:11:32,570
OK, less for Cisco.

279
00:11:32,570 --> 00:11:35,852
And Janeway?

280
00:11:35,852 --> 00:11:38,341
OK, and finally Porthos.

281
00:11:38,341 --> 00:11:41,940
[laughter]

282
00:11:41,940 --> 00:11:47,062
We know who was really running that ship!

283
00:11:47,062 --> 00:11:52,132
And let's talk about the two most iconic captains

284
00:11:52,132 --> 00:11:54,356
Kirk and Piccard.

285
00:11:54,356 --> 00:11:57,727
Two very different star ship captains, 25 years apart,

286
00:11:57,727 --> 00:12:00,888
each for a different generation.

287
00:12:00,888 --> 00:12:03,810
Captain Kirk from the original 60s TV show

288
00:12:03,810 --> 00:12:05,755
what's Kirk do in a crisis?

289
00:12:05,755 --> 00:12:09,582
Kirk? Kirk takes action. Kirk gives orders.

290
00:12:09,582 --> 00:12:13,024
Kirk is decisive. Kirk beams down to the planet.

291
00:12:13,024 --> 00:12:16,268
Kirk punches the alien, Kirk kisses the girk.

292
00:12:16,268 --> 00:12:17,789
Kirk, Kirk, Kirk, Kirk, Kirk, Kirk, Kirk.

293
00:12:17,789 --> 00:12:19,163
It's all about Kirk.

294
00:12:19,163 --> 00:12:23,445
Maybe he talks to his two best buddies.

295
00:12:23,445 --> 00:12:25,141
But it's all about Kirk.

296
00:12:25,141 --> 00:12:33,790
[laughter]

297
00:12:33,790 --> 00:12:37,884
And that's great for Kirk and Kirk's buddies.

298
00:12:37,884 --> 00:12:40,465
Now, Captain Piccard, from the early 90s

299
00:12:40,465 --> 00:12:42,570
Star Trek Next Generation.

300
00:12:42,570 --> 00:12:44,941
What does Piccard do in a crisis?

301
00:12:44,941 --> 00:12:48,864
Piccard holds a meeting.

302
00:12:48,864 --> 00:12:50,552
Piccard gathers his senior staff

303
00:12:50,552 --> 00:12:52,747
and he gets their opinions.

304
00:12:52,747 --> 00:12:54,657
Worf wants to fight it.

305
00:12:54,657 --> 00:12:56,510
Geordi wants to study it.

306
00:12:56,510 --> 00:12:58,914
Beverley wants to know if it's hurt.

307
00:12:58,914 --> 00:13:04,075
Riker wants to have sex with it.

308
00:13:04,075 --> 00:13:06,666
Troi wants to know how you feel about it.

309
00:13:06,666 --> 00:13:08,707
And Data feels bad because he doesn't have feelings.

310
00:13:08,707 --> 00:13:12,282
[laughter]

311
00:13:12,282 --> 00:13:15,342
So Piccard listens to all their different viewpoints

312
00:13:15,342 --> 00:13:18,222
and only then does he

313
00:13:18,222 --> 00:13:20,505
[laughter]

314
00:13:20,505 --> 00:13:22,729
only then does he make an informed decision.

315
00:13:22,729 --> 00:13:26,020
Now Piccard was given a huge job

316
00:13:26,020 --> 00:13:28,159
and it was not the Enterprise-D.

317
00:13:28,159 --> 00:13:31,690
Piccard's job was following 20 years of Kirk.

318
00:13:31,690 --> 00:13:34,213
Following 20 years of the same thing.

319
00:13:34,213 --> 00:13:38,909
20 years of one captain, 20 years of one way to do it.

320
00:13:38,909 --> 00:13:41,459
The Next Generation brought in all of this change.

321
00:13:41,459 --> 00:13:43,562
How many people watched it, watched Next Generation,

322
00:13:43,562 --> 00:13:45,596
when it first came on the air?

323
00:13:45,596 --> 00:13:47,333
OK, good, a good number.

324
00:13:47,333 --> 00:13:48,969
So you remember like "oh my God

325
00:13:48,969 --> 00:13:51,013
the bridge looks like the lobby of a Hilton Hotel!"?

326
00:13:51,013 --> 00:13:53,315
[laughter]

327
00:13:53,315 --> 00:13:56,411
They have interstellar HR.

328
00:13:56,411 --> 00:14:00,741
Piccard surrenders the Enterprise in the first episode.

329
00:14:00,741 --> 00:14:03,038
Aw, why can't the captain just shoot the bad guys

330
00:14:03,038 --> 00:14:05,658
and kiss the green women, seriously?

331
00:14:05,658 --> 00:14:07,573
Well, it's all different and complicated

332
00:14:07,573 --> 00:14:08,749
and that was the point.

333
00:14:08,749 --> 00:14:11,315
20 years went by and the world was different.

334
00:14:11,315 --> 00:14:12,544
Things were different and complicated

335
00:14:12,544 --> 00:14:13,974
but also better.

336
00:14:13,974 --> 00:14:17,818
Piccard updated Star Trek for a new generation.

337
00:14:17,818 --> 00:14:22,616
And Piccard introduced Star Trek to a wider audience.

338
00:14:22,616 --> 00:14:24,437
Come to think of it

339
00:14:24,437 --> 00:14:26,879
Larry, how old is Perl?

340
00:14:26,879 --> 00:14:28,500
[inaudible reply]

341
00:14:28,500 --> 00:14:30,639
20, 25 years old? OK, just checking.

342
00:14:30,639 --> 00:14:33,390
[laughter]

343
00:14:33,390 --> 00:14:34,512
No, no reason.

344
00:14:34,512 --> 00:14:42,488
[laughter]

345
00:14:42,488 --> 00:14:44,096
So Kirk gave us three seasons.

346
00:14:44,096 --> 00:14:45,520
And Kirk kicked it all off and that

347
00:14:45,520 --> 00:14:48,303
and we wouldn't be here without Kirk.

348
00:14:48,303 --> 00:14:50,221
Piccard, Piccard gave us seven seasons and

349
00:14:50,221 --> 00:14:53,876
kicked off two more shows with fourteen more.

350
00:14:53,876 --> 00:15:00,006
So there you go.

351
00:15:00,006 --> 00:15:06,399
A good segue to talking about why I'm getting old.

352
00:15:06,399 --> 00:15:09,049
In the finest tradition of Larry's keynotes

353
00:15:09,049 --> 00:15:12,181
I'm going to talk about my eyes.

354
00:15:12,181 --> 00:15:15,624
So now I'm getting old you get to hear about the medical issues.

355
00:15:15,624 --> 00:15:18,652
12 months ago I went to get my eyes checked

356
00:15:18,652 --> 00:15:20,505
ah the wonderful American healthcare system

357
00:15:20,505 --> 00:15:23,317
it hadn't happened in a while.

358
00:15:23,317 --> 00:15:26,309
And I found out I have a blind spot.

359
00:15:26,309 --> 00:15:28,275
I've lost some of my field of view in my left eye

360
00:15:28,275 --> 00:15:31,156
to pigmentary glaucoma.

361
00:15:31,156 --> 00:15:32,483
Now interestingly enough

362
00:15:32,483 --> 00:15:35,245
I can't see the blind spot

363
00:15:35,245 --> 00:15:37,583
even after it's been pointed out.

364
00:15:37,583 --> 00:15:39,647
Which is kind of weird, right?

365
00:15:39,647 --> 00:15:41,487
I can't even trick myself into seeing it

366
00:15:41,487 --> 00:15:42,942
it doesn't work.

367
00:15:42,942 --> 00:15:46,051
My brain tricks me into thinking it's just not there.

368
00:15:46,051 --> 00:15:47,847
And if my doctor hadn't pointed it out

369
00:15:47,847 --> 00:15:49,504
I never would have known.

370
00:15:49,504 --> 00:15:51,826
And I would have inevitably lost all sight

371
00:15:51,826 --> 00:15:56,635
in my left eye, irreversibly.

372
00:15:56,635 --> 00:15:59,019
Now I can keep it from getting worse with some eye drops.

373
00:15:59,019 --> 00:16:00,823
So once it's pointed out and once I know about it

374
00:16:00,823 --> 00:16:02,157
even though I can't see it

375
00:16:02,157 --> 00:16:03,846
I believe what my doctor said.

376
00:16:03,846 --> 00:16:06,124
And I take my medicine.

377
00:16:06,124 --> 00:16:07,585
It's a good thing I went to an expert

378
00:16:07,585 --> 00:16:09,087
and it's a good thing I listened to them

379
00:16:09,087 --> 00:16:12,223
and it's a good thing I did something about it.

380
00:16:12,223 --> 00:16:13,648
So Perl has a blind spot

381
00:16:13,648 --> 00:16:18,515
and I feel it's lack of diversity.

382
00:16:18,515 --> 00:16:23,981
Perl has lost you know, 80, 90% of its field of vision

383
00:16:23,981 --> 00:16:25,642
it's lost people and their ideas.

384
00:16:25,642 --> 00:16:27,109
And even after it's been pointed out

385
00:16:27,109 --> 00:16:30,893
Perl cannot see that blind spot

386
00:16:30,893 --> 00:16:34,512
because we do not know what we do not know.

387
00:16:34,512 --> 00:16:36,763
And if we keep going like we've been going

388
00:16:36,763 --> 00:16:38,243
we never will.

389
00:16:38,243 --> 00:16:42,881
Now fortunately, unlike my blind spot that's nerve damage

390
00:16:42,881 --> 00:16:45,697
Perl's blind spot can be fixed.

391
00:16:45,697 --> 00:16:48,262
But if and only if we do something about it.

392
00:16:48,262 --> 00:16:50,057
Because I can tell you if we do nothing about it

393
00:16:50,057 --> 00:16:54,683
it'll just stay the same.

394
00:16:54,683 --> 00:16:56,809
So Perl's blind spot looks like this.

395
00:16:56,809 --> 00:16:57,610
And let me tell you

396
00:16:57,610 --> 00:17:04,195
we had machines rendering for hours on these.

397
00:17:04,195 --> 00:17:06,664
This is how much of the Perl community

398
00:17:06,664 --> 00:17:09,052
that we can see.

399
00:17:09,052 --> 00:17:10,195
That you know is on the IRC channels

400
00:17:10,195 --> 00:17:13,265
and mailing lists and everything else.

401
00:17:13,265 --> 00:17:16,171
These are the Perl users that we know about

402
00:17:16,171 --> 00:17:19,077
These are the Perl users we don't know about.

403
00:17:19,077 --> 00:17:21,560
And this is kind of all the potential Perl users

404
00:17:21,560 --> 00:17:25,842
that we could be hauling in.

405
00:17:25,842 --> 00:17:29,004
And we like to think that we are the Perl community

406
00:17:29,004 --> 00:17:33,321
that irc.perl.org and p5p and the perl.org mailing lists

407
00:17:33,321 --> 00:17:34,690
and YAPC and CPAN and Perl Mongers

408
00:17:34,690 --> 00:17:36,568
and all that is the Perl community.

409
00:17:36,568 --> 00:17:38,001
But we're not.

410
00:17:38,001 --> 00:17:39,141
And I'm just going to give us a name

411
00:17:39,141 --> 00:17:41,725
I'm going to call us the perl.org community

412
00:17:41,725 --> 00:17:43,168
just so that we don't keep saying 'community'

413
00:17:43,168 --> 00:17:47,891
back and forth. Maybe I'm talking about the TV show.

414
00:17:47,891 --> 00:17:49,952
Now, who is the community and

415
00:17:49,952 --> 00:17:52,110
who owns the community, these are very good questions.

416
00:17:52,110 --> 00:17:54,915
And who gets to set the rules for the community

417
00:17:54,915 --> 00:17:57,315
which is very very important?

418
00:17:57,315 --> 00:17:59,128
The people who currently make up

419
00:17:59,128 --> 00:18:00,617
the perl.org community, do they, should they

420
00:18:00,617 --> 00:18:02,600
be setting the rules?

421
00:18:02,600 --> 00:18:04,925
The people who already use Perl?

422
00:18:04,925 --> 00:18:06,099
Well that's a little better.

423
00:18:06,099 --> 00:18:07,585
If we're getting more people.

424
00:18:07,585 --> 00:18:10,359
The people who you want to see using Perl?

425
00:18:10,359 --> 00:18:11,851
Almost there.

426
00:18:11,851 --> 00:18:13,525
The people who want to use Perl

427
00:18:13,525 --> 00:18:15,116
should be the ones that we're

428
00:18:15,116 --> 00:18:17,383
building the community for.

429
00:18:17,383 --> 00:18:19,817
The community should be built not just

430
00:18:19,817 --> 00:18:21,555
for the people here at YAPC and not just

431
00:18:21,555 --> 00:18:23,611
for those on IRC and not just for

432
00:18:23,611 --> 00:18:26,393
the people on the perl.org mailing lists

433
00:18:26,393 --> 00:18:28,016
and not just for the Perl Mongers.

434
00:18:28,016 --> 00:18:30,028
It certainly should be built for all those people.

435
00:18:30,028 --> 00:18:31,549
But it should also be built for the people

436
00:18:31,549 --> 00:18:34,052
who use and want to use Perl

437
00:18:34,052 --> 00:18:38,491
that we don't yet know about.

438
00:18:38,491 --> 00:18:40,456
How do you do that?

439
00:18:40,456 --> 00:18:44,016
Well, you start by getting people representing

440
00:18:44,016 --> 00:18:45,617
all the different types of people

441
00:18:45,617 --> 00:18:47,262
[tongue noise]

442
00:18:47,262 --> 00:18:48,451
you start by getting people representing

443
00:18:48,451 --> 00:18:49,636
all the different types of people

444
00:18:49,636 --> 00:18:51,291
at the table as you can.

445
00:18:51,291 --> 00:18:53,841
You give them voice, power and responsibility.

446
00:18:53,841 --> 00:18:55,244
You give them empowerment.

447
00:18:55,244 --> 00:18:57,768
So they can't be ignored or forgotten about

448
00:18:57,768 --> 00:19:03,289
in the sea of white male thick-skinned developers.

449
00:19:03,289 --> 00:19:04,906
And then you all build from there together.

450
00:19:04,906 --> 00:19:09,184
Just like being Piccard with his bridge crew.

451
00:19:09,184 --> 00:19:13,000
You build a senior staff representing

452
00:19:13,000 --> 00:19:17,032
all the important viewpoints on the ship

453
00:19:17,032 --> 00:19:19,902
you have them present for all the important decisions and discussions

454
00:19:19,902 --> 00:19:23,054
and you listen to them.

455
00:19:23,054 --> 00:19:25,797
So little segue

456
00:19:25,797 --> 00:19:26,662
most of you know I maintain

457
00:19:26,662 --> 00:19:28,201
a bunch of really important CPAN modules

458
00:19:28,201 --> 00:19:34,180
such as AAAAAAAAAAAA

459
00:19:34,180 --> 00:19:37,130
and you know, other things like Test::More

460
00:19:37,130 --> 00:19:38,835
that everyone uses for testing

461
00:19:38,835 --> 00:19:41,511
and Test::Builder that all the other test modules are built on

462
00:19:41,511 --> 00:19:43,962
and MakeMaker that handles most modules installs.

463
00:19:43,962 --> 00:19:46,922
So if you're installing a module

464
00:19:46,922 --> 00:19:48,891
you're probably using my stuff.

465
00:19:48,891 --> 00:19:51,158
So let me ask you something:

466
00:19:51,158 --> 00:19:52,843
why am I allowed to control

467
00:19:52,843 --> 00:19:56,469
how you write tests and install modules?

468
00:19:56,469 --> 00:20:00,129
And you might say that it's because I'm doing good work

469
00:20:00,129 --> 00:20:02,169
and that's not really, well, that's not really true.

470
00:20:02,169 --> 00:20:04,869
[laughter]

471
00:20:04,869 --> 00:20:06,215
But that's not why.

472
00:20:06,215 --> 00:20:08,512
And it's not because I'm the best person for the job

473
00:20:08,512 --> 00:20:10,386
it's not because you all decided

474
00:20:10,386 --> 00:20:12,299
on the best person for the job.

475
00:20:12,299 --> 00:20:14,247
It's not because you think I should take care of it.

476
00:20:14,247 --> 00:20:18,355
So 10 years ago I led a drive to build a better testing system

477
00:20:18,355 --> 00:20:22,214
and grabbed the namespaces for Test::More and Test::Builder

478
00:20:22,214 --> 00:20:24,381
along with chromatic and a bunch of other people

479
00:20:24,381 --> 00:20:27,754
and 10 years ago I led fixing up MakeMaker

480
00:20:27,754 --> 00:20:30,877
and shoved it onto CPAN and got the namespaces.

481
00:20:30,877 --> 00:20:33,866
And so 10 years ago I took over

482
00:20:33,866 --> 00:20:34,893
some areas that were languishing

483
00:20:34,893 --> 00:20:37,149
and did some things of merit.

484
00:20:37,149 --> 00:20:40,279
10 years later why am I still controlling

485
00:20:40,279 --> 00:20:42,847
how you write tests and install modules?

486
00:20:42,847 --> 00:20:45,772
And there is one and only one real reason.

487
00:20:45,772 --> 00:20:48,913
I own the namespaces.

488
00:20:48,913 --> 00:20:51,569
And nobody can take them away from me,

489
00:20:51,569 --> 00:20:54,344
at least not in the current system.

490
00:20:54,344 --> 00:20:56,673
So 10 years ago I did some work of merit

491
00:20:56,673 --> 00:21:01,232
and now I have total control.

492
00:21:01,232 --> 00:21:10,893
Benevolent-ish dictatorship. Not meritocracy.

493
00:21:10,893 --> 00:21:12,601
But dictatorship.

494
00:21:12,601 --> 00:21:13,698
And when I'm done with them

495
00:21:13,698 --> 00:21:15,970
I'll hand them off to someone I trust

496
00:21:15,970 --> 00:21:18,188
which now becomes inheritance.

497
00:21:18,188 --> 00:21:20,649
And a government of inherited dictatorship

498
00:21:20,649 --> 00:21:23,235
is an aristrocracy.

499
00:21:23,235 --> 00:21:25,829
Most of Perl works this way.

500
00:21:25,829 --> 00:21:31,175
Perl has become an aristocracy, not a meritocracy.

501
00:21:31,175 --> 00:21:32,293
Now there are some projects that

502
00:21:32,293 --> 00:21:34,871
buck the trend and the system.

503
00:21:34,871 --> 00:21:37,135
But the system continues to encourage aristrocracy

504
00:21:37,135 --> 00:21:39,060
and dictatorship.

505
00:21:39,060 --> 00:21:40,637
You can do some homesteading on the edges

506
00:21:40,637 --> 00:21:41,522
but more and more and more

507
00:21:41,522 --> 00:21:45,499
the center of Perl development is an aristocracy.

508
00:21:45,499 --> 00:21:49,189
And aristrocracies are very resistant to change.

509
00:21:49,189 --> 00:21:51,408
Dictators have blind spots.

510
00:21:51,408 --> 00:21:52,576
If the dictator has a blind spot

511
00:21:52,576 --> 00:21:54,468
the whole project has a blind spot.

512
00:21:54,468 --> 00:21:55,874
If the dictator hands off the project

513
00:21:55,874 --> 00:21:56,902
to someone of their choosing

514
00:21:56,902 --> 00:21:59,369
the successor will likely have the same blind spot.

515
00:21:59,369 --> 00:22:02,658
And this is why we're so homogenous, the aristocracy.

516
00:22:02,658 --> 00:22:04,080
Year after year, it becomes harder and harder

517
00:22:04,080 --> 00:22:05,839
to break into the core

518
00:22:05,839 --> 00:22:08,430
and the core gets larger and larger

519
00:22:08,430 --> 00:22:10,529
And I don't just mean the core of Perl

520
00:22:10,529 --> 00:22:13,218
I mean all the big CPAN modules.

521
00:22:13,218 --> 00:22:17,142
It's harder to break in and effect real change.

522
00:22:17,142 --> 00:22:20,119
So we need more Piccards.

523
00:22:20,119 --> 00:22:22,976
Kirk, Kirk is overworked and at times

524
00:22:22,976 --> 00:22:26,326
a bit paranoid and narrow-minded.

525
00:22:26,326 --> 00:22:28,633
Piccard? He has time to learn the whistle.

526
00:22:28,633 --> 00:22:29,835
[laughter]

527
00:22:29,835 --> 00:22:33,267
Maybe play some space squash.

528
00:22:33,267 --> 00:22:40,081
Piccard has a carefully crafted senior staff

529
00:22:40,081 --> 00:22:41,986
and they make up all the different stakeholders

530
00:22:41,986 --> 00:22:43,684
on a Federation starship.

531
00:22:43,684 --> 00:22:45,752
Defense, science, engineering, medical, social,

532
00:22:45,752 --> 00:22:48,938
discipline, even the teachers, parents,

533
00:22:48,938 --> 00:22:51,267
families and so on and so forth.

534
00:22:51,267 --> 00:22:52,396
Each of these represent a different

535
00:22:52,396 --> 00:22:53,587
viewpoint, a way of thinking

536
00:22:53,587 --> 00:22:55,555
and a set of ideas.

537
00:22:55,555 --> 00:22:57,056
They have not just a voice,

538
00:22:57,056 --> 00:22:59,119
but they also have power and responsibility

539
00:22:59,119 --> 00:23:01,346
and importantly respect, the respect of

540
00:23:01,346 --> 00:23:02,721
Piccard on the Enterprise.

541
00:23:02,721 --> 00:23:04,517
They are empowered.

542
00:23:04,517 --> 00:23:06,242
And when there's a decision to be made

543
00:23:06,242 --> 00:23:08,263
none of them can be ignored or forgotten

544
00:23:08,263 --> 00:23:09,984
because they're all right there

545
00:23:09,984 --> 00:23:15,815
represented on the Bridge, in the crisis.

546
00:23:15,815 --> 00:23:17,038
So Perl and Open Source in general

547
00:23:17,038 --> 00:23:18,923
is made of up Kirks.

548
00:23:18,923 --> 00:23:21,880
And this is I believe the root of our problem.

549
00:23:21,880 --> 00:23:24,793
This is why we find it so hard to

550
00:23:24,793 --> 00:23:27,320
gather and maintain diversity and ideas.

551
00:23:27,320 --> 00:23:29,038
It doesn't do any good to make an effort

552
00:23:29,038 --> 00:23:31,362
to think about diversity today

553
00:23:31,362 --> 00:23:33,549
if the people in power don't really get it

554
00:23:33,549 --> 00:23:36,718
and are going to forget about them tomorrow

555
00:23:36,718 --> 00:23:37,786
if they're just going to go back to

556
00:23:37,786 --> 00:23:42,020
optimising for themselves and their friends.

557
00:23:42,020 --> 00:23:44,025
It's like letting carnivores do the meal-planning

558
00:23:44,025 --> 00:23:45,324
for vegetarians.

559
00:23:45,324 --> 00:23:46,209
Oh boy.

560
00:23:46,209 --> 00:23:48,727
Another raw veggie platter.

561
00:23:48,727 --> 00:23:53,041
Or letting car drivers design bike lanes.

562
00:23:53,041 --> 00:23:54,837
So nobody eats the boring veggies

563
00:23:54,837 --> 00:24:04,168
[laughter and applause]

564
00:24:04,168 --> 00:24:05,591
nobody eats the boring veggies

565
00:24:05,591 --> 00:24:06,803
nobody rides in the dangerous bike lines

566
00:24:06,803 --> 00:24:08,083
that go nowhere useful.

567
00:24:08,083 --> 00:24:09,145
You might wind up concluding that

568
00:24:09,145 --> 00:24:10,425
there are no vegetarians

569
00:24:10,425 --> 00:24:11,388
there are no cyclists

570
00:24:11,388 --> 00:24:13,592
why are we putting in the effort?

571
00:24:13,592 --> 00:24:15,013
And that's because it's not

572
00:24:15,013 --> 00:24:16,656
"if you build it they will come"

573
00:24:16,656 --> 00:24:18,869
it's if you build it for the people

574
00:24:18,869 --> 00:24:20,342
and maintain it, it will come,

575
00:24:20,342 --> 00:24:23,619
they will come.

576
00:24:23,619 --> 00:24:25,171
So I became really convinced of this

577
00:24:25,171 --> 00:24:26,602
by a conference in my town called

578
00:24:26,602 --> 00:24:27,938
Open Source Bridge

579
00:24:27,938 --> 00:24:29,351
shameless plug!

580
00:24:29,351 --> 00:24:33,887
There's still tickets available!

581
00:24:33,887 --> 00:24:37,561
This is my favourite conference.

582
00:24:37,561 --> 00:24:40,006
OS Bridge came about in part because

583
00:24:40,006 --> 00:24:41,887
they were sick of how Open Source conferences

584
00:24:41,887 --> 00:24:43,837
are run.

585
00:24:43,837 --> 00:24:47,625
Open Source Bridge is technology agnostic.

586
00:24:47,625 --> 00:24:49,663
It's not so much about how you do it

587
00:24:49,663 --> 00:24:53,394
as what you're doing, what you're doing with it.

588
00:24:53,394 --> 00:24:55,732
Nobody cares if you're optimising your Postgres database

589
00:24:55,732 --> 00:24:58,658
they care about what you're putting into it.

590
00:24:58,658 --> 00:25:00,842
OS Bridge is explicitly about having all the

591
00:25:00,842 --> 00:25:03,446
people involved in Open Source

592
00:25:03,446 --> 00:25:04,916
not just developers

593
00:25:04,916 --> 00:25:07,715
users, admins, businesses, institutions

594
00:25:07,715 --> 00:25:11,956
designers, journalists, newbies, oldbies, whatever.

595
00:25:11,956 --> 00:25:13,931
The talk proposals are all public

596
00:25:13,931 --> 00:25:15,707
and they're open to community comment

597
00:25:15,707 --> 00:25:20,315
and anybody can apply to be on the talk selection committee.

598
00:25:20,315 --> 00:25:22,900
OS Bridge has 25% women speakers.

599
00:25:22,900 --> 00:25:25,081
And I was told that Linux Conf Australia

600
00:25:25,081 --> 00:25:27,602
hit 25% this year.

601
00:25:27,602 --> 00:25:29,506
Woo!

602
00:25:29,506 --> 00:25:33,356
Men and women speak at the same time!

603
00:25:33,356 --> 00:25:34,871
It's you know amazing!

604
00:25:34,871 --> 00:25:37,082
You know, women appear everywhere,

605
00:25:37,082 --> 00:25:40,154
and it's really no big thing.

606
00:25:40,154 --> 00:25:42,372
And they solved this

607
00:25:42,372 --> 00:25:44,873
they solved reams of typical Open Source conference problems

608
00:25:44,873 --> 00:25:47,396
with a fairly simple trick

609
00:25:47,396 --> 00:25:50,011
equity at the top.

610
00:25:50,011 --> 00:25:51,258
When they set up the conference committee

611
00:25:51,258 --> 00:25:54,507
they made sure that it was made up of different kinds of people.

612
00:25:54,507 --> 00:25:56,350
Different genders and races and viewpoints and languages

613
00:25:56,350 --> 00:25:58,018
and jobs and interests and concerns,

614
00:25:58,018 --> 00:26:01,766
all part of Open Source.

615
00:26:01,766 --> 00:26:03,643
They all had responsibility and they all had

616
00:26:03,643 --> 00:26:05,614
power and they had voice.

617
00:26:05,614 --> 00:26:07,550
And they all made sure that,

618
00:26:07,550 --> 00:26:09,949
they were all right there from the start,

619
00:26:09,949 --> 00:26:11,761
and they all made sure that when things were getting

620
00:26:11,761 --> 00:26:15,294
set up, everybody was being taken into account

621
00:26:15,294 --> 00:26:16,829
because they're all right there

622
00:26:16,829 --> 00:26:18,569
with their voice and their power.

623
00:26:18,569 --> 00:26:20,869
Right from the beginning to the end.

624
00:26:20,869 --> 00:26:22,860
And this isn't to say that it wasn't hard

625
00:26:22,860 --> 00:26:25,496
and tricky work and dedicated

626
00:26:25,496 --> 00:26:27,723
but it worked and it continues to work.

627
00:26:27,723 --> 00:26:31,441
I think they're on year 3.

628
00:26:31,441 --> 00:26:33,384
So instead of building a broken system

629
00:26:33,384 --> 00:26:36,086
dominated by a single set of concerns

630
00:26:36,086 --> 00:26:38,050
and then trying to fix it later

631
00:26:38,050 --> 00:26:45,461
[laughter]

632
00:26:45,461 --> 00:26:48,023
and having a big fight about it when people are upset

633
00:26:48,023 --> 00:26:49,562
because you didn't think about them

634
00:26:49,562 --> 00:26:50,813
or your fixes stink

635
00:26:50,813 --> 00:26:53,032
or and winding up with something half-assed

636
00:26:53,032 --> 00:26:54,718
and we know how frustrating this is

637
00:26:54,718 --> 00:26:56,132
in a software project right?

638
00:26:56,132 --> 00:26:59,053
trying to turn a ship after it's been designed.

639
00:26:59,053 --> 00:27:00,625
They designed it right from the start

640
00:27:00,625 --> 00:27:02,037
and like the best designs

641
00:27:02,037 --> 00:27:04,579
you don't even know it was designed that way.

642
00:27:04,579 --> 00:27:08,906
It just all works and it flows beautifully

643
00:27:08,906 --> 00:27:11,814
from equity at the top.

644
00:27:11,814 --> 00:27:14,598
And the rest of it works itself out.

645
00:27:14,598 --> 00:27:16,911
There's a reference, I have a reference at the end

646
00:27:16,911 --> 00:27:18,323
if you want to hear more about this.

647
00:27:18,323 --> 00:27:23,950
"Open Source Citizenship", at the end of it.

648
00:27:23,950 --> 00:27:25,253
So you might be thinking

649
00:27:25,253 --> 00:27:27,866
a lot of people say "right, that's a conference,

650
00:27:27,866 --> 00:27:30,526
are there any software projects that work that way?"

651
00:27:30,526 --> 00:27:32,664
And the answer is "yes, quite a bit".

652
00:27:32,664 --> 00:27:34,453
The Apache Software Foundation,

653
00:27:34,453 --> 00:27:36,895
not just a webserver.

654
00:27:36,895 --> 00:27:39,939
Apache has over 100 projects of all different types

655
00:27:39,939 --> 00:27:41,747
and different languages.

656
00:27:41,747 --> 00:27:48,431
Most of which started as Kirks, all of which are now Piccards.

657
00:27:48,431 --> 00:27:51,826
They will not allow a Kirk.

658
00:27:51,826 --> 00:27:53,562
So we're very lucky to have

659
00:27:53,562 --> 00:27:55,617
Nóirín Plunkett here, Executive Vice President

660
00:27:55,617 --> 00:27:57,540
of the Apache Software Foundation

661
00:27:57,540 --> 00:28:00,289
and she's going to give a couple of talks

662
00:28:00,289 --> 00:28:04,277
about they do it, so we get to see another way to do it.

663
00:28:04,277 --> 00:28:05,795
So she's giving one called

664
00:28:05,795 --> 00:28:07,117
"There's More Than One Way To Run a Project:

665
00:28:07,117 --> 00:28:07,998
the Apache Way"

666
00:28:07,998 --> 00:28:11,360
and that's at 11 o'clock in Pyle 325

667
00:28:11,360 --> 00:28:13,244
and I kind of recommend that as a followup

668
00:28:13,244 --> 00:28:15,012
to this if you're interested

669
00:28:15,012 --> 00:28:17,230
and then tomorrow she's giving a Q&A called

670
00:28:17,230 --> 00:28:18,620
"Becoming a Better Benevolent Dictator"

671
00:28:18,620 --> 00:28:23,223
again at 11 o'clock in the Lowell Dining Room.

672
00:28:23,223 --> 00:28:24,898
If you want to hear about another way to do it

673
00:28:24,898 --> 00:28:26,750
go to her talks.

674
00:28:26,750 --> 00:28:30,547
Because the Apache Foundation is nothing to be slouched at.

675
00:28:30,547 --> 00:28:32,982
Find out what you don't know you don't know

676
00:28:32,982 --> 00:28:35,267
Learn a new way to do it and

677
00:28:35,267 --> 00:28:39,211
fix your blind spot.

678
00:28:39,211 --> 00:28:40,636
Now I'll admit it.

679
00:28:40,636 --> 00:28:43,295
I'm a Kirk.

680
00:28:43,295 --> 00:28:45,942
But I want to be a Piccard.

681
00:28:45,942 --> 00:28:50,042
But I can't just shave my head and call it all good.

682
00:28:50,042 --> 00:28:52,059
So I'm going to be doing some work

683
00:28:52,059 --> 00:28:56,196
in the future to change how my CPAN modules are run.

684
00:28:56,196 --> 00:28:58,265
And one of the things I'm going to be doing

685
00:28:58,265 --> 00:29:01,333
is writing down my policies and procedures

686
00:29:01,333 --> 00:29:04,786
which are basically generally just in my head

687
00:29:04,786 --> 00:29:07,814
so that people know where they are

688
00:29:07,814 --> 00:29:10,285
new people know where they are

689
00:29:10,285 --> 00:29:11,732
existing people know where they are

690
00:29:11,732 --> 00:29:13,519
and they can be discussed, they can be changed,

691
00:29:13,519 --> 00:29:15,178
they can be followed and so on and so forth.

692
00:29:15,178 --> 00:29:18,798
It's not just rule by man, it's rule by law.

693
00:29:18,798 --> 00:29:20,980
I'm going to move towards a concensus driven

694
00:29:20,980 --> 00:29:23,821
approach to accepting patches.

695
00:29:23,821 --> 00:29:25,264
Which basically means

696
00:29:25,264 --> 00:29:27,004
well basically it means that I don't dominate

697
00:29:27,004 --> 00:29:29,281
every decision.

698
00:29:29,281 --> 00:29:31,359
Nóirín will talk more about what consensus is

699
00:29:31,359 --> 00:29:34,607
and how it works. It's not voting!

700
00:29:34,607 --> 00:29:41,097
And keep my blind spots from dominating.

701
00:29:41,097 --> 00:29:43,249
I will try and have, I will have

702
00:29:43,249 --> 00:29:46,576
a public roadmap of where the project is going.

703
00:29:46,576 --> 00:29:48,307
Written down so that the community knows

704
00:29:48,307 --> 00:29:49,508
where things are going and they can have some

705
00:29:49,508 --> 00:29:50,619
say in the matter.

706
00:29:50,619 --> 00:29:51,119
Right now?

707
00:29:51,119 --> 00:29:54,549
All in my head.

708
00:29:54,549 --> 00:29:57,454
It's going to be awkward.

709
00:29:57,454 --> 00:30:01,011
First season's always awkward.

710
00:30:01,011 --> 00:30:02,293
But that's how you learn:

711
00:30:02,293 --> 00:30:08,126
by doing and by failing and by trying again.

712
00:30:08,126 --> 00:30:13,420
So who can be a Piccard, here?

713
00:30:13,420 --> 00:30:14,798
It sounds like I'm talking about doing it from

714
00:30:14,798 --> 00:30:16,170
the top and that means it must be

715
00:30:16,170 --> 00:30:18,115
like p5p and that. No.

716
00:30:18,115 --> 00:30:23,560
Perl is interesting in that we have

717
00:30:23,560 --> 00:30:27,761
21000 CPAN distributions, something like that?

718
00:30:27,761 --> 00:30:31,130
So that's 21000 potential Piccards.

719
00:30:31,130 --> 00:30:34,153
21000? No, 5000 authors.

720
00:30:34,153 --> 00:30:36,954
There's 5000 potential Piccards, just from CPAN alone,

721
00:30:36,954 --> 00:30:39,005
each with their own project.

722
00:30:39,005 --> 00:30:43,290
How many people here have a module on CPAN?

723
00:30:43,290 --> 00:30:47,260
Yeah, OK, you can all try and be a Piccard.

724
00:30:47,260 --> 00:30:48,918
If any of you control a mailing list

725
00:30:48,918 --> 00:30:52,491
or Perl Mongers group or IRC channel

726
00:30:52,491 --> 00:30:54,520
the more Piccards we have

727
00:30:54,520 --> 00:30:55,777
the more comfortable we'll be

728
00:30:55,777 --> 00:31:00,871
with Piccards. And the more Piccards we'll have.

729
00:31:00,871 --> 00:31:02,616
What else can you do?

730
00:31:02,616 --> 00:31:04,813
Well, if you see something,

731
00:31:04,813 --> 00:31:06,215
you can say something.

732
00:31:06,215 --> 00:31:09,663
If you see an incident, if you see

733
00:31:09,663 --> 00:31:11,825
something that should be taken care of

734
00:31:11,825 --> 00:31:16,237
say something, but say it privately.

735
00:31:16,237 --> 00:31:18,685
Both to the person at fault

736
00:31:18,685 --> 00:31:21,996
to let them know that what they did is not OK

737
00:31:21,996 --> 00:31:23,639
but also to the moderator

738
00:31:23,639 --> 00:31:26,777
to ask them to do their job.

739
00:31:26,777 --> 00:31:29,816
Because we do not moderate anywhere near enough.

740
00:31:29,816 --> 00:31:30,877
Why not publicly?

741
00:31:30,877 --> 00:31:32,891
Well it just tends to fan the flames.

742
00:31:32,891 --> 00:31:33,923
We just get into flamewars

743
00:31:33,923 --> 00:31:35,898
and the poor person who had the incident

744
00:31:35,898 --> 00:31:38,435
winds up in the middle of this furbull

745
00:31:38,435 --> 00:31:40,589
and then they just leave.

746
00:31:40,589 --> 00:31:42,865
Or they don't talk about it anymore.

747
00:31:42,865 --> 00:31:43,880
What else can you do?

748
00:31:43,880 --> 00:31:46,506
Well, you can be a mentor for someone who isn't like you.

749
00:31:46,506 --> 00:31:48,943
Different job, different gender, different language,

750
00:31:48,943 --> 00:31:52,484
different way of thinking, just something, something different.

751
00:31:52,484 --> 00:31:53,259
Maybe they're just really young

752
00:31:53,259 --> 00:31:55,090
maybe they're really old, whatever.

753
00:31:55,090 --> 00:31:57,848
Bring them into Perl, stick up for them,

754
00:31:57,848 --> 00:31:59,272
sheperd them through, you know,

755
00:31:59,272 --> 00:32:02,095
teach them all those secret handshakes and everything else

756
00:32:02,095 --> 00:32:04,652
and kind of actively change the way

757
00:32:04,652 --> 00:32:06,839
the what our community is made up of.

758
00:32:06,839 --> 00:32:09,095
What else?

759
00:32:09,095 --> 00:32:11,212
You can think about it, you can talk about it,

760
00:32:11,212 --> 00:32:12,205
you can blog about it.

761
00:32:12,205 --> 00:32:13,738
Part of the reason I'm doing this keynote

762
00:32:13,738 --> 00:32:16,589
is to bust open the topic.

763
00:32:16,589 --> 00:32:17,962
So guys?

764
00:32:17,962 --> 00:32:21,193
You're allowed to talk about diversity

765
00:32:21,193 --> 00:32:23,909
and gals?

766
00:32:23,909 --> 00:32:25,631
Help the guys.

767
00:32:25,631 --> 00:32:27,974
I had a lot of help from a lot of women

768
00:32:27,974 --> 00:32:30,058
making this talk. It's hard.

769
00:32:30,058 --> 00:32:33,220
And help the guys that are willing to speak

770
00:32:33,220 --> 00:32:36,181
check their work, back them up.

771
00:32:36,181 --> 00:32:38,850
So Nóirín has told me she's having a much more

772
00:32:38,850 --> 00:32:40,621
enjoyable conference knowing

773
00:32:40,621 --> 00:32:44,936
she doesn't have to give the unicorn talk.

774
00:32:44,936 --> 00:32:46,962
A unicorn talk being "so, you're a woman in

775
00:32:46,962 --> 00:32:48,797
Open Source, why don't you talk about that?"

776
00:32:48,797 --> 00:32:50,796
Well, she wants to talk about something else.

777
00:32:50,796 --> 00:32:53,157
So I'm giving it.

778
00:32:53,157 --> 00:32:57,877
I know a lot of you have things to say on this topic.

779
00:32:57,877 --> 00:32:59,096
There's so much more to cover

780
00:32:59,096 --> 00:33:00,317
there's so much more to talk about

781
00:33:00,317 --> 00:33:02,239
there's so many people

782
00:33:02,239 --> 00:33:06,552
who are so much better at this than I could be here.

783
00:33:06,552 --> 00:33:08,362
Don't be afraid to include topics in this talk,

784
00:33:08,362 --> 00:33:11,351
topics like this in your talks,

785
00:33:11,351 --> 00:33:14,034
keep the conversation going.

786
00:33:14,034 --> 00:33:17,585
Because I'm not going to solve this in 45 minutes.

787
00:33:17,585 --> 00:33:20,212
I'm amazingly on time though.

788
00:33:20,212 --> 00:33:23,030
So if, so this is the last thing

789
00:33:23,030 --> 00:33:25,599
so if you've tuned out up to this point

790
00:33:25,599 --> 00:33:28,690
just kind of wake up, this is all the content you need to hear,

791
00:33:28,690 --> 00:33:31,627
if after all this you're still unconvinced

792
00:33:31,627 --> 00:33:33,776
or you tuned out or you don't care

793
00:33:33,776 --> 00:33:35,685
or you're on the fence or whatever

794
00:33:35,685 --> 00:33:38,082
this is all that I ask of you

795
00:33:38,082 --> 00:33:39,828
just one thing:

796
00:33:39,828 --> 00:33:41,703
when somebody reports an incident

797
00:33:41,703 --> 00:33:44,958
or somebody suggests running a project differently

798
00:33:44,958 --> 00:33:47,292
or when someone wants to talk about social oversight

799
00:33:47,292 --> 00:33:49,493
or community issues or codes of conduct

800
00:33:49,493 --> 00:33:50,552
or something else

801
00:33:50,552 --> 00:33:52,640
here's what I want you to, if you do nothing else,

802
00:33:52,640 --> 00:33:53,847
I hope you will do more,

803
00:33:53,847 --> 00:33:56,539
but if you do nothing else,

804
00:33:56,539 --> 00:33:58,568
do this one thing for me.

805
00:33:58,568 --> 00:34:01,329
Shut up.

806
00:34:01,329 --> 00:34:06,910
[applause]

807
00:34:06,910 --> 00:34:08,199
Now I want to elaborate on that

808
00:34:08,199 --> 00:34:12,043
[laughter]

809
00:34:12,043 --> 00:34:14,855
so the other Perl motto is "try it".

810
00:34:14,855 --> 00:34:18,755
And a corollary to the other Perl motto

811
00:34:18,755 --> 00:34:21,756
is "let somebody else try it."

812
00:34:21,756 --> 00:34:26,015
When somebody has a new idea

813
00:34:26,015 --> 00:34:29,680
particularly if that person is new to the community

814
00:34:29,680 --> 00:34:31,648
it's very easy to overwhelm them with nit-picks

815
00:34:31,648 --> 00:34:33,384
and why the idea won't work

816
00:34:33,384 --> 00:34:36,120
and this is known as 'stop energy'.

817
00:34:36,120 --> 00:34:37,443
When it comes to social ideas

818
00:34:37,443 --> 00:34:38,988
we have lots and lots and lots of people

819
00:34:38,988 --> 00:34:40,801
who want to nit-pick

820
00:34:40,801 --> 00:34:43,672
with lots of concerns, lots of FUD,

821
00:34:43,672 --> 00:34:46,468
it's just something we're not used to.

822
00:34:46,468 --> 00:34:48,432
Who want to say why it won't work

823
00:34:48,432 --> 00:34:49,398
why they're uncomfortable about it

824
00:34:49,398 --> 00:34:50,259
and so on and so forth.

825
00:34:50,259 --> 00:34:51,447
We're a very homogenous community

826
00:34:51,447 --> 00:34:54,894
of socially passive know-it-alls.

827
00:34:54,894 --> 00:34:57,388
We overwhelm most attempts at social change

828
00:34:57,388 --> 00:34:58,847
with stop energy.

829
00:34:58,847 --> 00:35:00,350
So what I'm asking the people in this room to do

830
00:35:00,350 --> 00:35:02,413
is don't do that.

831
00:35:02,413 --> 00:35:03,615
Think and stop.

832
00:35:03,615 --> 00:35:06,542
If you don't say that we can't change things.

833
00:35:06,542 --> 00:35:08,823
don't say it's futile, don't say the sky will fall,

834
00:35:08,823 --> 00:35:10,284
that everybody will leave,

835
00:35:10,284 --> 00:35:11,914
don't tell someone that if they don't like it

836
00:35:11,914 --> 00:35:15,296
they can go make their own project instead.

837
00:35:15,296 --> 00:35:19,018
Don't tell, don't quibble over definitions and semantics,

838
00:35:19,018 --> 00:35:21,327
don't people they should just deal with it.

839
00:35:21,327 --> 00:35:26,301
Just let somebody else try it.

840
00:35:26,301 --> 00:35:29,454
If you must comment, do it on your own blog,

841
00:35:29,454 --> 00:35:31,182
or a different thread or whatever,

842
00:35:31,182 --> 00:35:35,461
don't hijack their energy.

843
00:35:35,461 --> 00:35:38,591
Let them have their spaces succeed or fail.

844
00:35:38,591 --> 00:35:41,823
And if you have concerns, maybe try working with them

845
00:35:41,823 --> 00:35:45,025
instead of stopping them at the start.

846
00:35:45,025 --> 00:35:48,383
Cos we've been doing it the same way

847
00:35:48,383 --> 00:35:51,000
for 20 years.

848
00:35:51,000 --> 00:35:53,925
Let somebody else try another way and see what happens.

849
00:35:53,925 --> 00:35:55,698
It might just work.

850
00:35:55,698 --> 00:35:58,097
There might just be more than one way to do it.

851
00:35:58,097 --> 00:35:59,670
[laughter]

852
00:35:59,670 --> 00:36:02,691
But we'll never know unless we try.

853
00:36:02,691 --> 00:36:04,107
So what I ask is please please

854
00:36:04,107 --> 00:36:05,980
honor the other Perl motto

855
00:36:05,980 --> 00:36:11,555
and please let someone else try it.

856
00:36:11,555 --> 00:36:12,529
Otherwise we're just going to have

857
00:36:12,529 --> 00:36:14,766
the same generation over again.

858
00:36:14,766 --> 00:36:19,595
But this time it's going to look a bit awkward.

859
00:36:19,595 --> 00:36:22,775
Er.

860
00:36:22,775 --> 00:36:25,863
So we've had so many Kirks for so long.

861
00:36:25,863 --> 00:36:28,685
Let's see what happens when we get some Piccards.

862
00:36:28,685 --> 00:36:33,946
And then maybe we can have a Cisco and maybe Janeway.

863
00:36:33,946 --> 00:36:36,979
And then hopefully once we reach that point

864
00:36:36,979 --> 00:36:41,222
nobody will have to give this talk again.

865
00:36:41,222 --> 00:36:42,173
So, thank you.

866
00:36:42,173 --> 00:37:11,317
[applause]

867
00:37:11,317 --> 00:37:12,758
Um so like I said

868
00:37:12,758 --> 00:37:15,818
these are not fresh ideas.

869
00:37:15,818 --> 00:37:18,357
I want to reiterate that Nóirín is

870
00:37:18,357 --> 00:37:20,107
having her talks "There's More Than One Way

871
00:37:20,107 --> 00:37:24,194
To Run a Project" at 11 in Pyle 325.

872
00:37:24,194 --> 00:37:26,517
She's doing "Becoming a Better Benevolent Dictator"

873
00:37:26,517 --> 00:37:28,257
which is basically a Q&A.

874
00:37:28,257 --> 00:37:29,867
If you are a benevolent dictator

875
00:37:29,867 --> 00:37:31,553
and want to know how to run your project differently

876
00:37:31,553 --> 00:37:32,980
she will talk about that.

877
00:37:32,980 --> 00:37:36,031
There's a, I don't have the URL up here,

878
00:37:36,031 --> 00:37:39,136
she has a URL for questions that you

879
00:37:39,136 --> 00:37:41,409
might want to have answered at that Q&A.

880
00:37:41,409 --> 00:37:43,469
I presume it's in the schedule.

881
00:37:43,469 --> 00:37:44,490
What's that?

882
00:37:44,490 --> 00:37:46,303
[inaudibie]

883
00:37:46,303 --> 00:37:51,130
bit.ly/nationbuilding all lower case no spaces?

884
00:37:51,130 --> 00:37:53,950
bit.ly/nationbuilding

885
00:37:53,950 --> 00:37:55,067
And for further reading

886
00:37:55,067 --> 00:37:58,848
I've basically put together notes and stuff

887
00:37:58,848 --> 00:38:00,656
it's a little low sorry

888
00:38:00,656 --> 00:38:08,067
http://bit.ly/YAPC2012_Keynote

889
00:38:08,067 --> 00:38:09,792
and that contains a lot of the references here

890
00:38:09,792 --> 00:38:11,833
the numbers that I've been using

891
00:38:11,833 --> 00:38:15,704
things like Audrey Eschright's Open Source Citizenship

892
00:38:15,704 --> 00:38:20,650
the various 'meritocracies are broken" arguments

893
00:38:20,650 --> 00:38:25,208
a fantastic one called

894
00:38:25,208 --> 00:38:29,190
"Why Biology Demonstrates Why There are No Women In Open Source

895
00:38:29,190 --> 00:38:33,382
(Hint: It Doesn't)"

896
00:38:33,382 --> 00:38:37,461
Everybody got time to get those things?

897
00:38:37,461 --> 00:38:39,516
Great. Thank you so much.

898
00:38:39,516 --> 00:38:40,836
I'm going to collapse now.

899
00:38:40,836 --> 00:38:42,082
[laughter]

900
00:38:42,082 --> 00:38:52,998
[applause]

901
00:38:52,998 --> 00:38:55,580
Am I under time?

902
00:38:55,580 --> 00:38:56,442
Jokes!

903
00:38:56,442 --> 00:38:58,677
Jokes? I could just show you images that I didn't

904
00:38:58,677 --> 00:39:00,506
put in the— no.

905
00:39:00,506 --> 00:39:04,874
[laughter]

906
00:39:04,874 --> 00:39:08,414
I had one hour of sleep,

907
00:39:08,414 --> 00:39:09,679
I'm not taking questions, sorry.

908
00:39:09,679 --> 00:39:11,108
Catch me in the hallway

909
00:39:11,108 --> 00:39:13,953
catch me anywhere else seriously

910
00:39:13,953 --> 00:39:16,537
but I really do have one hour of sleep.

911
00:39:16,537 --> 00:39:19,773
Ah, I can't field them.

912
00:39:19,773 --> 00:39:21,969
But catch me anywhere else.

913
00:39:21,969 --> 00:39:23,431
Oh and also you can ask me on email

914
00:39:23,431 --> 00:39:28,771
schwern@pobox.com, and uh I'm pretty easy to find.

915
00:39:28,771 --> 00:39:30,967
[applause]