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On Thu, 2008-01-17 at 09:16 +0000, Anthony Williams wrote: > Quoting Viv <viv@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>: > > > We don't seem to have very many female members - off hand, I can't think > > of more than Clare, Gemma and myself (I apologise if I have missed > > anyone). However, certainly we are in a significant minority. > > > > I don't know if this is just our LUG or if this reflects the proportion > > of female Linux users overall. > > Firstly, I think that most people who aren't involved with IT either > for work or as a hobby (e.g. helping develop the linux kernel in their > spare time) are "scared" of computers, even if they use one every day. > Windows comes preinstalled on most computers, so the vast majority of > people won't change to Linux (*very* scary, especially since linux is > generally seen as a "geek's OS"). I think another factor which seems to come into play is that many computer users have no concept of what the os is or does - to them it is indistinguishable from the hardware, which itself is monolithic as far as many people are concerned. MS doesn't help this situation by apparently confusing hardware and software when you look into system settings in winblows - the fact that they are talking about drivers is lost on the novice or the disinterested/non-technical for whom this is a confusing issue anyway (well, it was for me a long time ago!). I am guessing here, but I suspect the (vast?) majority of people who use computers for work are women, which is sort of ironic. I think men just like to tinker with complex machines, not necessarily actually use them - hence work with back-end systems being (afaik) largely male dominated. Linux being a tinkerer's paradise might explain the discrepancy noted by the o/p. At some point on the scale from uber-geek to disinterested-user there must be a transition point where the computer becomes an appliance rather than an endlessly fascinating machine to play with... Perhaps this again reflects on the gender question (okay I'm in danger of being misogynist now so I'll stop) Or maybe I'm just spouting b/s.... Alexis -- The Mailing List for the Devon & Cornwall LUG http://mailman.dclug.org.uk/listinfo/list FAQ: http://www.dcglug.org.uk/linux_adm/list-faq.html