[teacup50]

Well, an open challenge that might help someone understand what I actually think, at least along one axis:

Let's say I want to objectively evaluate the notion that there is such a thing as an arbitrary, self-declared, non-binary "gender" (or "gender identity") that can range across any number of "genders".

In that case, can you specify the set of propositions used to classify something as a "gender"?

Is your definition purely self-referential (cyclic)?

Does your definition exclude other social self-identifications, such as "goth" or "emo"? Why or why not?

Does your definition rely on references to "biological sex" (e.g. male/female)? If so, what are the sexes "male" and "female"?

[DaiPlusPlus]

Matters of personal-identity are completely orthogonal to what the Rust community should be about.

Reading your posting, I think you're implying that non-traditional notions of gender is evidence of irrational thinking, and you think Rust community would be better-off with an exclusively "rational" (by your measure) membership.

My retort is that it is completely irrelevant - I compare it to admitting open young-earth creationists simultaneously with adherents to Wahhabism into the Rust community: both of those positions (in my opinion) are as irrational and non-evidence-based as otherkin or your notion of gender-identity, and yet all of those individuals are capable of making valuable contributions to the language, the runtime, the standard library, packages and so on - accepting their work has nothing to do with condoning or endorsing their opinions (for example we still call radiation meters Geiger counters, even though Hans Geiger worked on Nazi nuclear weapons).

I won't respond to your questions posed because it's both outside the scope of this discussion and I believe poses a dangerous distraction to identify a wedge with which you can coarsely separate people into groups you think you would agree with - and more importantly: we should not be pontificating on gender-identity because none of us are subject matter experts in the field.

[teacup50]

When all else fails, deflect.

Does Rust also have polls to determine the number of contributors who are Christian, and an outreach program to increase those numbers?

[civilitty]

That's like refusing a fresh cheeseburger because you're afraid that by the time you bite into it, it'll develop botulism - even as you're minutes away from starving to death. You're nitpicking tiny details and dismissing a clear improvement because it does not conform perfectly to your idealized standards. Life is messy, people make mistakes. That just means we keep moving forward and self correcting when we need to not when we make up entirely hypothetical downsides, most of which never end up happening anyway. I repeat, again: you have provided zero evidence for your claims that the Rust team is doing the wrong thing or heading in the wrong direction.

This insistence on using hypotheticals instead of providing evidence screams fear; not a rational evaluation of the community and its plans. It's the same tired strategy used by conservatives for thousands of years to fight literacy, education, suffrage, abolition of slavery, welfare, universal healthcare, and pretty much everything good that has happened in human society. No one but its rhetorical peddlers take it seriously because it is purely self defeating: if you're too paralyzed by hypothetical issues to take the first step, then those issues will never be resolved, freeing you from facing the uncomfortable change ahead.

[teacup50]

That's not an answer.