EK: My name is Elizabeth Krumbach, I've been using Linux since 2002. Currently I use Debian and Ubuntu on my systems, but have a great deal of experience with Red Hat and Gentoo. I have worked with Debian-Women and Ubuntu-Women in an effort to recruit more women into the F/OSS community. I coordinate the Philadelphia area Chapter of LinuxChix, the Montgomery County Linux Users Group and am a regular attendee at the Philadelphia Area Linux Users Group. I also write for O'Reilly's Linux Blog.

EK: I've been interested in computers since the first PC came into our house in 1991; I was 10 years old. This PC was an old IBM 8086 that my uncle took out of his basement to give us. It was sort of a hobby of mine while I went through middle school and into high school, I'd save up money to buy computers to tinker with. But I never really got serious about it (or even considered computers as a career) until I got online when I was 17.

EK: No. The combination of being a quiet kid and not taking my playing with computers seriously caused me never to encounter other people who might share my interests. It didn't matter to me at the time anyway.

EK: Not directly, but there has been plenty of less direct discouragement along the way, which I think can be more harmful.

Perhaps my first negative experience I was when I was shopping for the first new computer I was paying for on my own. The salesmen consistently spoke down to me, but not to some male I happened to be shopping with, one even tried to persuade me to buy a less powerful computer because I "really don't need that much RAM"! I lost track of how many times similar scenarios have happened since then, I still prefer shopping online almost exclusively for this reason.

The F/OSS community online has been the primary source of discouragement though. Many of the F/OSS forums out there are male-dominated, and women who get involved in this world are often not treated equally. It might not be direct insults or insults at all, but I know many women who have taken to using gender-neutral pseudonyms in order to dodge snide comments and marriage proposals that inevitably get directed their way when it's discovered they're a woman doing something technical.

To be fair, LinuxChix and Women groups within the F/OSS community online have been the primary source of encouragement. And it really is a small, vocal minority in most F/OSS communities that make things uncomfortable, I've met plenty of fantastic people through F/OSS who don't care at all what my gender is. My fiance is one of these people, he's been fantastic.

"Real Life" F/OSS gatherings can be tough at times too. For example, I don't like going down to the city alone, so I call up a male friend of mine who will drive me down to LUG meetings. When I first started going I got the impression that if I don't speak up during discussion with something smart and techie to say, or don't actively detach myself from this male friend, it's often assumed that I'm "just there as a girlfriend." Imagine having to prove yourself each time you go out to such an event just to get an equal standing with your fellow geeks: it's tiring.

These examples might seem trivial, but it adds up. I've heard the whole "just get over it and grow a thicker skin" speech a thousand times, but why would I spend my free time volunteering in a community where I don't feel comfortable? I don't feel we should have to change ourselves by "growing a thicker skin" so we can offer help.

In my case I did end up growing that thicker skin and toughing it out, but I know several women who gave up on working with computers and F/OSS entirely because they weren't willing to do this, I can sympathize.

How did you become more involved in F/OSS? How have you contributed to projects or communities?

EK: It came pretty naturally to me. I started using Linux, I started writing How-To articles on my own website when I figured new things out, and then one day I joined the IRC channel for some F/OSS software I was using. In that channel they were talking about needing some documentation re-written, I volunteered and made my first official contribution to a F/OSS project.

Since then, I've written documentation for other projects, done some Debian packaging, done some web development and wiki-based work for projects, and helped out extensively with IRC-based support for several F/OSS projects.

EK: The founder of LinuxChix, Deb Richardson, said she founded it for two reasons:

• She "thought it would be fun."
• " To give women who use Linux a comfortable environment in which to discuss the OS they love; to create a community that encourages and helps new users; to make others realize that the vocal minority does not necessarily represent the Linux community in general."

As for the goals, I believe LinuxChix has accomplished both these founding reasons and now LinuxChix is really what you make it to be. For me, finding the LinuxChix network of friendly, intelligent, and supportive women who shared my interests was transformational. I felt quite alone as a woman in F/OSS before I learned of LinuxChix, and suddenly that wasn't the case anymore. In addition to friends, I found mentors and people who I could look up to, and people who had shared experiences of discouragement and frustration working and volunteering in tech.

Currently I'm the coordinator for the Philadelphia area LinuxChix chapter.

EK: In my chapter coordinator role for LinuxChix I've found my goals to be generally more social. It's just fun to get together with women who share my interests and to encourage other women who are interested in getting into Linux and/or furthering their knowledge.

As for F/OSS, I've been working with Ubuntu-Women these past few months to get more women interested in contributing to Ubuntu. I really hope that someday there won't be any sexism or "boys club" feel to get over in order to get involved with F/OSS, and that anyone who can offer help with anything will feel comfortable doing so and feel that their contribution is valued.

EK: I'm not sure I'd go this far. There is a tendency among less developed software products to have a feel that's more geared toward developers than users, but I wouldn't say this was a gender problem.

I think some hardware manufacturers target certain things toward young men though, I remember the first 3D accelerated graphics card I got had a picture of a hot cartoony/digital woman with green hair on the box, but this is more of a marketing issue.

EK: Hang in there, you're not alone.

And always remember that you're doing this because you enjoy it. If you encounter a community that is too hostile for you to contribute to either speak up to the proper project authorities or walk away. As much as I want to see more women contributing, I've found that it's better to admit defeat in one project than to get burnt out and walk away from all of it. There are projects out there that will value your contributions.

You might also want to join LinuxChix, we're a great bunch and have always been very supportive of each other.

What advice do you have for communities such as KDE about female participation and gender balance?

EK: Reach out to women specifically. I believe that by recruiting more women now we open ourselves to a future where women coming into these communities will notice and feel comfortable with becoming involved.

And work to value all contributions to F/OSS equally. There are more women working with Artwork, Translations and Documentation writing than Programming and Software Packaging, but often these skills are taken to not be "worth" as much. Although I don't believe people should contribute to F/OSS to be recognized, it is important to make it clear that work done in all areas of a project is important and valuable. After all, a big hurdle F/OSS has to overcome is becoming more user-friendly, and things like Artwork, Translations, and Documentation are important.

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