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.

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