>> Christopher Allan Webber:

“I agree with privilege ack, but be careful on this one... there are quite a few people in free software who lack social skills because they're non-neurotypical. That's no excuse for asshattery of course, and I don't know the context above.
One of my very close friends who works on womens outreach lacks a lot of rudimentary social skills is very non-neurotypical and has talked to me about how she struggles with this. I wouldn't want someone like her to be excluded because this is an area difficult for her.
But yes, if it's lacking social skills because privilege has shielded you from developing social skills, that's no excuse for sure. :)”

To expand on the contest, the discussion was about the "you should grow a thick skin" attitude in some communities (*cough* lkml *cough*).

But you're totally right on the need to remember that lack of social skills can be not intentional, and this is way - when in doubt - I prefer to cut people some slack especially in the internet.

I guess I prefer to let someone go away with being a jerk than exclude non neurotypical people. :)