For a long time, tech culture has focused too narrowly on technical skills; this has resulted in a tech community that too often puts companies and code over people. Greater Than Code is a podcast that invites the voices of people who are not heard from enough in tech: women, people of color, trans and/or queer folks, to talk about the human side of software development and technology. Greater Than Code is providing a vital platform for these conversations, and developing new ideas of what it means to be a technologist beyond just the code. Featuring an ongoing panel of racially and gender diverse tech panelists, the majority of podcast guests so far have been women in tech! We’ve covered topics including imposter syndrome, mental illness, sexuality, unconscious bias and social justice. We also have a major focus on skill sets that tech too often devalues, like team-building, hiring, community organizing, mentorship and empathy. Each episode also includes a transcript. We have an active Slack community that members can join by pledging as little as $1 per month via Patreon. (https://www.patreon.com/greaterthancode)
180: Open Source Freedom and Technical Purity with Tobie Langel
02:34 - Tobie’s Superpower: Bridging tribes.
- Avoiding Labels
04:13 - Being a Co-Conspirator of Ethical Open Source
- Contributing to the Greater Good
- Finding Deeper Meaning in Open Source, Software, and Tech
- Privilege, Moral Obligation, and Responsibility
- Edmund Berkeley
- The Priority of Constituencies
- Technical Purity
12:41 - Open Source: Prioritizing Implementers Over End-Users
- Richard Stallman, “Four Freedoms”
- Everything is Software, Everywhere – Impact
17:19 - Developer Attachment to Technical Purity
- Privacy & Security & Safety (Spying on your spouse on Facebook example)
- Flavors of Safety (Zoom breaches and trust)
- Physical Safety and Mental Safety
- Freedom From Self-Censorship
- Surveillance and Tracking
34:54 - Open Source Practitioners Misguided Thinking When Building Software
- Software is Written by Privileged People
- Lack of Empathy for the End-User
- Comfort and Questioning
- Internationalization Issues
47:03 - Talking About These Issues – What gives us hope?
This episode was brought to you by @therubyrep of DevReps, LLC. To pledge your support and to join our awesome Slack community, visit patreon.com/greaterthancode
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Special Guest: Tobie Langel.
Sponsored By:
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