::this is my last post on this matter, then I'm totally moving on...

John Cook was nice enough to call me this morning and apologize, however I don't think John (or anyone) owes me an apology. I really didn't intend this to become a huge issue. When I read the original posting (now updated by John), I panicked, mostly, because of how I though it would be perceived by my employer. I didn't want the impression to be that I'm traveling around the world getting hosed and misrepresenting my company.

What happened in the follow-up was that John, himself, was misrepresented.

I didn't mean for it to sound as if John or anyone else meant their comments (online or offline) as malicious, only that these comments can feed into stereotypes. In fact, John's quoting of Chris and myself in that context was utterly INCLUSIVE - not thinking about my gender at all. It was me that was painfully aware of it.

In actuality, I think the community is really trying to be inclusive. I know that, because I've received so much support since I've arrived here and the topic that seems to be on the minds of almost everyone I talk to is: how do we increase the diversity in the community?

...to which I say, the community is diverse and it is growing more and more in that direction. The examination of stereotypes (geek cannot equal sexy) may be one way to attract more diversity, but I think we are heading in the right direction already.