

What ever happened to Adria Richards? - pain_perdu

Looks like her website is dead and she has not really tweeted since the incident.  Does anyone know where she landed or what she is doing now?
======
katherineparker
I was wondering the same thing the other day. I think she's hiding out and
probably not sure about her next move. I don't know her at all but I emailed
her to tell her that she has done lots of good and will be forgiven if she
explains where she screwed up. Nobody deserves to be told they should be raped
etc. and I think the only way for some of the public overreaction to stop is
for her to admit her own overreaction. I don't think she's a bad person, but
this was a bad mistake to make and stay silent after and she might be
remembered as only this is if she doesn't speak up. I also worry this has made
women in tech appear fragile and oversensitive. I don't like how she's trying
to speak for _me_ , a women in tech, because she doesn't handle herself like a
woman, she handles herself like a child. Have a tantrum and run away. The
longer she waits, the harder it will be for the public to forgive her. Come on
Adria, you must be better than this. You seem so smart, please just step up to
the plate. Women in tech need you now to return our reputation to what it was
before your outburst.

~~~
rada
_Women in tech need you now to return our reputation to what it was before
your outburst._

I disagree. She needs to attend to her physical safety, first and foremost,
and her mental health, a close second. The overreaction to her tiny tweet was
about a million to one and her very public flogging was so out of proportion
and so misogynistic and racist that if I were her, I'd be scarred for life. It
reminded me of those 3rd world stories that pop up every once in a while where
some poor woman gets raped by an entire village as punishment for adultery.
Let's not pile up on an already unfortunate situation by suggesting that the
perpetrator of a tiny crime (if a rather temperate tweet that called a joke
"not cool" can even be called a crime) has to apologize in the wake of other
people's much, much larger crimes (from the firing of one of the jokers to
rape threats to death threats).

On a larger note, it's never a minority group's responsibility to keep the
majority prejudice-free. We really need to dispose of the silly notion that
it's our responsibility as women in tech to be 100% perfect lest some men
decide to withdraw their respect. We do not deserve to be held to a higher
standard than men who engage in irrational, drama llama or otherwise childish
behavior _all the time_ (case in point, the dongle joke that started the whole
thing).

Our reputation does not need to be "returned" because it was never "lost".
Adria Richards, take care of yourself.

P.S. You said, _I don't like how she's trying to speak for me_ and want her to
apologize. Do you not see that she was not trying to speak for you any more
than you tried to speak for me just now? That being born a woman does not make
you the speaker for, or responsible for the reputation of, your entire gender?
Otherwise you have exact same thing to apologize for.

~~~
katherineparker
Thanks for the input and keeping the conversation going. I respect you have
your opinion but I want to address some points (just to specify, and you're of
course entitled to your opinion either way):

I'm not putting her at a higher standard than a man and I don't think anyone
else is. If a guy did this, I honestly think even more people would freak out.

I am speaking for women in tech and I absolutely do not have anything similar
to apologize for, simply because of this fact: She said she is speaking for
women in tech and she did something stupid. I'm speaking for women in tech
saying Adria don't represent women and say you're doing something for women
(you're a "hero") when you're actually doing something very wrong. If you want
to represent us, apologize then. So yes, that does tarnish us to some degree.
She _needs_ to take responsibility for that. If she didn't proclaim to
represent us then it wouldn't be a problem to me. I really don't see how that
can be argued and why you're as offended as if I ruined someone's career/life
at pycon. But it is your opinion.

~~~
rada
_If she didn't proclaim to represent us then it wouldn't be a problem to me. I
really don't see how that can be argued._

 _She said she is speaking for women in tech._

Quote please? I don't think she said or proclaimed anything of the sort. (I've
just re-read her tweets and her blog post, and I couldn't find anything).

 _I'm speaking for women in tech_.

Please stop. You do not speak for me, or any other women in tech. Your opinion
is your own.

 _You're as offended as if I ruined someone's career/life at pycon._

I am not offended at all. Please re-read my post. Which parts did you think
said or implied that you've ruined anyone's life or career?

~~~
katherineparker
You're saying I need to apologize. That shows me you're offended.

I don't have the quote on me, but it's online. Google more if you care to see
it.

If you don't want me to speak for you, that's fine. I'm just saying most women
in general would be offended to be represented by Adria and I'm saying most of
us (all the dev women I know so far) are not interested in being made to look
stupid through her self-proclaimed representation. I'm just trying to defend
that and I'm sorry you were offended in the process. Your voice definitely
counts too. I just don't understand it (I'm honestly trying).

~~~
rada
_I don't have the quote on me, but it's online. Google more if you care to see
it._

You have made a false claim about what Adria Richards said. If you do not have
a quote to back it up, how can I be expected to? How could I possibly find a
quote that doesn't exist?

 _I'm just saying most women in general would be offended to be represented by
Adria._

You keep repeating that she represents all women. She doesn't. And you don't
know how most women feel based on your own feelings.

 _You're saying I need to apologize. That shows me you're offended._

I said no such thing. Again, please re-read my post.

 _Your voice definitely counts too. I just don't understand it (I'm honestly
trying)._

No, you are not "honestly" trying. You've accused Adria Richards of saying
something she didn't, I asked for a quote, and your response was "google it",
even though I already said "I've just re-read her tweets and her blog post,
and I couldn't find anything". You are also intentionally arguing with things
I did not say; implying that I am emotional ("offended") to avoid arguing on
substance; and using sarcasm like, "most women are not interested in being
made to look stupid" because what, _some_ women like me are? This is not how
people maintain an honest and healthy discussion.

~~~
lake99
> How could I possibly find a quote that doesn't exist?

In any other circumstance, that might be OK. In this case though, she has
written just ONE blog post about this incident. Obviously it makes sense to
start there. She has given many interviews too about it, and commented on
other websites. You could have left that for later.

Source [http://butyoureagirl.com/14015/forking-and-dongle-jokes-
dont...](http://butyoureagirl.com/14015/forking-and-dongle-jokes-dont-belong-
at-tech-conferences/):

<blockquote>

Women in technology need consistant messaging from birth through retirement
they are welcome, competent and valued in the industry. Let’s unify the
message to our daughters and to the women developers we work with:

“We want you to be here and we will do our best to welcome you into the world
of programming.”

What has to change is that everyone must take personal accountability and
speak up when they hear something that isn’t ok. It takes three words to make
a difference:

“That’s not cool.”

</blockquote>

I am given to understand that katherineparker does not believe that she's one
of these women who need to be massaged from birth to retirement, and
katherineparker wishes Adria, being some kind of evangelist, had stopped
"representing" women in general in this manner. That's cool. I absolutely
refuse to massage anyone.

> You have made a false claim about what Adria Richards said.

False claim.

> You keep repeating that she represents all women.

Odd. KP said the opposite. There is definitely more matter for me to go on
about. Just not the will.

~~~
rada
Me to KP: _You keep repeating that she represents all women._

You to me: _Odd. KP said the opposite._

Are you trolling? Let me quote KP:

 _If she [Adria] didn't proclaim to represent us then it wouldn't be a problem
to me._

and

 _She [Adria] said she is speaking for women in tech._

On what planet are these statements the opposite? I quite literally quoted
KP's claims _verbatim_.

And why did you post that random <blockquote>? Was it supposed to prove that
Richards said she was speaking for all women? Because in what you quoted, she
doesn't actually say that.

~~~
lake99
> Are you trolling?

I'm afraid I must decline to join you on that. But I'm glad you quoted KP, and
_astounded_ that I should have to point out the following to you: "proclaim to
represent" and "said she is speaking for" is just not the same as "represent"
and "is speaking for". I could proclaim to represent the queen of Mars. That
does not mean that I _do_ represent her.

The bit I quoted, constitutes "to speak, act, or be present officially for
another person or people". That's what "represent/Verb" means, according to an
Oxford dictionary. A bit later, Adria challenges Mark, "When was the last time
you spoke up at work or a conference on behalf of someone else?"

------
dreadsword
Given the caustic nature of the fallout, she's doing the only smart thing and
minimizing any streisand effect by keeping a low profile. Note that I'm not
suggesting that she was in the right or wrong, but that she's identified that
there's no percentage in trying to "win" this, and that the spillover will
have a detrimental effect on causes that she cares about (women in tech, for
example).

------
flootch
What ever happened to the developer who lost his job?

~~~
Ziomislaw
.. is much better question. Who would care about her? Stop feeding this
particular troll please

------
HarryHirsch
Just one week ago the proper way how to deal with bad publicity was mentioned
on this very site: <https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5593326>

------
joshguthrie
Maybe she's gonna update her github in a few year with cryptic messages in
cryptic outdated format.

Anyone knows if she ever did any Ruby?

~~~
medecau
First true laugh of the day, thanks.

