Re: [gentoo-dev] Re: Re: Seeking questions for a user survey

[George Prowse]

Steve Long wrote:
> Joe Peterson wrote:
>
>> On Thu, Jan 17, 2008 at 10:56:36AM +0000, Steve Long wrote:
>>> Ryan Hill wrote:
>>>> I agree, though year of birth might be interesting.  Income and children
>>>> are a bit too private.
>>>>
>>> ++ in general although I do think parenthood (if responsible) is as
>>> relevant as age. A 28 year old with a 5 year old kid has a lot to show a
>>> 35 year old doctoral student with no kids, even if it's not all
>>> technical. # of kids isn't relevant.
>> Judging the maturity of users (or devs) by how many children they have
>> (or indeed *if* they have children) is pretty questionable.  I know
>> people who have kids and are pretty irresponsible (that's not to say
>> most are, but one does not guarantee the other).  And I'd argue that
>> someone with children does not necessarily have "a lot to show" someone
>> without kids, unless it is the specific experience of childrearing.
>>
>> There are many people (myself and my wife included) who choose
>> consciously not to have children.  It is becoming more and more a
>> *choice* people can legitimately make rather than just an assumed part
>> of life.  It is not selfish or immature, as some people think, so I'd be
>> careful about implying that such a question gauges maturity.
>>
> My apologies if I caused you any offense, Joe. I fully agree that choosing
> not to have children is just as mature as deciding to procreate, and more
> mature than simply drifting into parenthood.
>
> I suppose what I am getting at is the idea that there are others in Gentoo
> besides young single males. A responsible parent or a committed spouse has
> a very different perspective to a teenager. Certainly my perspective now at
> 37 is vastly different to when I was 18. Parenthood changed a great deal,
> as did the earlier process of committing to marriage.
>
> Which is not to denigrate people who chose not to marry; my godchildren's
> parents were dead-set about their commitment to each other without a piece
> of paper. I guess it's the change between being an individual and feeling a
> commitment to someone else. And yeah maybe it's not something we need to
> ask anyone, but it is good to consider that there are diverse perspectives
> within the group.
>
> In the same vein I asked on project wrt to number of female devs and was
> told there are perhaps 3 or 4 iirc.
>
>
For a survey of this kind I think questions about children etc are as 
inappropriate as ones about sexual orientation.

Personally i'd stick to the fundamentals.

George
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