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mjg59Edit: About two months after this was written, Intel committed to a large scale diversity initiative. Actions speak louder than words, and this was an effective repudiation of the behaviour described below. I've happily worked on Intel-related issues since then.
A lot of the kernel work I've ended up doing has involved dealing with bugs on Intel-based systems - figuring out interactions between their hardware and firmware, reverse engineering features that they refuse to document, improving their power management support, handling platform integration stuff for their GPUs and so on. Some of this I've been paid for, but a bunch has been unpaid work in my spare time[1].
Recently, as part of the anti-women #GamerGate campaign[2], a set of awful humans convinced Intel to terminate an advertising campaign because the site hosting the campaign had dared to suggest that the sexism present throughout the gaming industry might be a problem. Despite being awful humans, it is absolutely their right to request that a company choose to spend its money in a different way. And despite it being a dreadful decision, Intel is obviously entitled to spend their money as they wish. But I'm also free to spend my unpaid spare time as I wish, and I no longer wish to spend it doing unpaid work to enable an abhorrently-behaving company to sell more hardware. I won't be working on any Intel-specific bugs. I won't be reverse engineering any Intel-based features[3]. If the backlight on your laptop with an Intel GPU doesn't work, the number of fucks I'll be giving will fail to register on even the most sensitive measuring device.
On the plus side, this is probably going to significantly reduce my gin consumption.
[1] In the spirit of full disclosure: in some cases this has resulted in me being sent laptops in order to figure stuff out, and I was not always asked to return those laptops. My current laptop was purchased by me.
[2] I appreciate that there are some people involved in this campaign who earnestly believe that they are working to improve the state of professional ethics in games media. That is a worthy goal! But you're allying yourself to a cause that disproportionately attacks women while ignoring almost every other conflict of interest in the industry. If this is what you care about, find a new way to do it - and perhaps deal with the rather more obvious cases involving giant corporations, rather than obsessing over indie developers.
For avoidance of doubt, any comments arguing this point will be replaced with the phrase "Fart fart fart".
[3] Except for the purposes of finding entertaining security bugs
A lot of the kernel work I've ended up doing has involved dealing with bugs on Intel-based systems - figuring out interactions between their hardware and firmware, reverse engineering features that they refuse to document, improving their power management support, handling platform integration stuff for their GPUs and so on. Some of this I've been paid for, but a bunch has been unpaid work in my spare time[1].
Recently, as part of the anti-women #GamerGate campaign[2], a set of awful humans convinced Intel to terminate an advertising campaign because the site hosting the campaign had dared to suggest that the sexism present throughout the gaming industry might be a problem. Despite being awful humans, it is absolutely their right to request that a company choose to spend its money in a different way. And despite it being a dreadful decision, Intel is obviously entitled to spend their money as they wish. But I'm also free to spend my unpaid spare time as I wish, and I no longer wish to spend it doing unpaid work to enable an abhorrently-behaving company to sell more hardware. I won't be working on any Intel-specific bugs. I won't be reverse engineering any Intel-based features[3]. If the backlight on your laptop with an Intel GPU doesn't work, the number of fucks I'll be giving will fail to register on even the most sensitive measuring device.
On the plus side, this is probably going to significantly reduce my gin consumption.
[1] In the spirit of full disclosure: in some cases this has resulted in me being sent laptops in order to figure stuff out, and I was not always asked to return those laptops. My current laptop was purchased by me.
[2] I appreciate that there are some people involved in this campaign who earnestly believe that they are working to improve the state of professional ethics in games media. That is a worthy goal! But you're allying yourself to a cause that disproportionately attacks women while ignoring almost every other conflict of interest in the industry. If this is what you care about, find a new way to do it - and perhaps deal with the rather more obvious cases involving giant corporations, rather than obsessing over indie developers.
For avoidance of doubt, any comments arguing this point will be replaced with the phrase "Fart fart fart".
[3] Except for the purposes of finding entertaining security bugs
Re: What does Intel do again?
Date: 2014-10-02 10:05 pm (UTC)If I'm working for a corporation that does that job and I have some say in how it does it, I have a legal obligation to not endanger the business of the corporation.
I'm not saying who is right or why Intel made their choice. I just say there's no reason Intel as a company should have to be involved in this stuff just because they want to advertise their products.
I know that when you've got a story about how the world is and someone isn't telling the same story they can seem like they're contradicting you, that they're against you. But if this stuff really matters? You have to be really, really careful about making it all or nothing, for or against.
Ever see how little gets done at diplomacy summits? 99% of it is just making sure everyone is being friends and getting along, so that when it's time to discuss what matters everyone is able to really hear each other.
If I need to blindly saw open a wall, I turn off power to the whole house, not just flip a few breakers. If something goes wrong with a machine, I don't leap to hit the switch, I stop, look, think and move carefully to shut off power for the workshop.
Last thing we should be doing (and respect to the OP and to Tim, who I don't doubt have more context and insight into this than I do) is throwing something as big and useful as Intel under the bus while there's a risk of a misunderstanding (on any side) or still some chance to talk things through.
Again, I don't know politics or marketing. I definitely don't know the internet. I just know that when I don't know, I don't commit. That - maybe - is what the Intel guys were thinking.
They don't know. We don't know. Let's be careful and polite and stuff instead of being that nasty married couple ready to jump down each others throats at the first excuse.
Putting it politely, Why poop where you chew? Everyone on twitter seems to be flipping each other off verbally for stuff you laugh over in the street. The internet is just so toxic... Is it because it's fast? Is it because everyone is acting out for an audience?
So yeah, let's complain to Intel, if you think you want to commit to a side. Or say "I don't know what's going on. If Intel doesn't either, maybe they should hold off about pulling ads or listening to people they've never met."
We're supposed to use our manners to get along with strangers. The internet is almost nothing but strangers. Seems to me that online is where you've got to be at your best, your most professional if you want to get anything done.
It's the wires and electrons that don't care how your manners are. They won't be convinced by shouting, but they won't go against your for it either. People are just the opposite. We follow and respect people who act decent - in spite of - other people being jerks.
Now I don't know you and maybe you think I'm still just trying to say you're wrong, but if you think you're going to troll or shame me into just agreeing with you then that speaks more to just how seriously you take this Intel thing.
You have a good internet day.
Re: What does Intel do again?
Date: 2014-10-02 10:06 pm (UTC)Re: What does Intel do again?
Date: 2014-10-05 02:09 am (UTC)You are a dick.
Re: What does Intel do again?
Date: 2014-10-03 02:47 pm (UTC)Re: What does Intel do again?
Date: 2014-10-05 02:11 am (UTC)You are a dick.