[Indie/EonAltar] Gender Diversity in our Workplace

Eon Altar is gearing up with a lot of social media updates. We've posted some art work over the past couple weeks, our studio has a blog post on what we've been up to for the past year--which isn't that much more info than I had mentioned in the Beyond Bossfights podcast I participated in a few months ago, just a different perspective--and now we have a staff photo up:

Click to embiggen.

The first thing folks noticed was all the photos on the tablets being held. No, those aren't the images of fallen developers; that's us remote folk. My photo is the second one from the upper left, as a remote contractor on the team.

The second thing folks noticed was, to quote someone on Facebook, "you work in a sausage fest... Hire more girls!" For those keeping track we have two lady employees: one of our QA, and our Lead Developer (the tablet to the left of mine).

So, on the bright side, one of the most influential and highest positions you can have outside of the management hierarchy is filled by a woman--and to be fair, we only have 3 developers, and of those three, one's a lady and one's gay (me), so we're doing all right on the diversity count there--but we are short on non-males overall.

One of our co-founders and creative director had this to say about it on Facebook:

Ed Douglas: 

When we did our Flying Helmet Games team photo this week one this [sic] was more obvious than ever. There sure are a lot of dudes at this studio! This is in no way intentional or premeditated, it's just the way it's happened. We have a few women on the team, including our brilliant Lead Programmer. We had quite a few more during our last round of production, but due to our hiatus we couldn't keep that team together. I like to think we're a welcoming and inclusive studio but the truth of the matter is that more guys than gals are applying for the jobs. I hope the reason is that all the women out there already have fantastic jobs, but I'm more inclined to believe that somewhere upstream, more women than men are being discouraged from joining the games and entertainment technology industries. 

There are so many groups working to change this, and I want to help too. If there's anyone out there who is interested in joining the games industry, and for whatever reason has been discouraged; "Find a real career," "Games are for kids," "Aren't videogames are for boys?" please reach out, talk to us, come visit the studio, let us help you learn about why this is one of the coolest industries out there with incredible growth potential and the need for new ideas and fresh perspectives! 

Please share this if this sounds like it speaks to anyone in your lives, message me or reach out on the Flying Helmet Games Facebook site. And of course, let me know what you think, and tell me what you're doing too and what else there is we can do to help change this for the better together!

Mind you, we're a small company, and one that hasn't been able to offer up much in the way of immediate monetary compensation given we haven't shipped anything yet, and that's not to say there might not be unconscious biases at play here, either. But I'm willing to take Ed at face value that folks just aren't applying. When I was involved in hiring our junior programmer, I can say that the candidates were pretty well entirely male.

This isn't a post to pat ourselves on the back on how diversity conscious we are. Far from it. I'm making this post to make a point: we have a disparity in the industry that's being felt all the way down to the indie developers, and we need to fix that.

Our lady employees are among our most skilled employees (and we have a lot of very skilled people at our studio), they kick ass and take names nearly every day, and the fact that we could be losing more employees like that before they even make it to our door is disheartening. At Microsoft, some of my smartest and most effective colleagues were women. As an industry, we're doing ourselves a disservice by not reaching out and welcoming more women, or in some cases even being actively hostile against women with misogynistic practices, comments, or the like.

While gaming in general is doing a pretty awful job of treating women as equal human beings as the past few months can attest to, the industry has been and is still complicit. This must stop. We're only hurting our own industry in the long term by perpetuating this gender imbalance.

I'll close with this quote from Nathan Vella from a speech at GDC 2015:

So let's all fight back...with the best way we know how: through our games, and through our teams, and through our collaborations

#IndieDev, #EonAltar, #Diversity

Overwatch: Diversity Done Better

Blizzard announced their first new IP in 17 years. Seventeen! That's older than a good chunk of their fanbase--I know when I see comments about how people grew up on WoW it makes me feel old. But the last new IP Blizzard had was StarCraft in 1998. Though they've beefed up their franchises with spin-offs (Hearthstone and Heroes of the Storm), at some point the Diablo/StarCraft/WarCraft triumvirate was going to give out. So to see a new thing is pretty sweet.

I'm not a huge fan of modern FPS games. I was big into Goldeneye, Perfect Dark, and Quake 3 Arena back in the day, but more recent titles like Halo or Gears of War haven't really interested me. I played Mass Effect despite the shooter aspect of it (though to be fair, Mass Effect 3 did a really, really good job of making it much more fun). But Overwatch seems like it's an interesting enough take on the team-based shooter genre that I want to give it a whirl.

Between the superhero-esque powers, a little faster-paced gameplay than many other shooters, and a strong aesthetic all really solidify it in my head as something I want to play. What also helps, however, is that the characters are actually quite interesting.

Ubisoft: "Girls are hard, guys." Blizzard: "Here's five playable females, two robots, and a gorilla wearing glasses. You're welcome."
— Appy (@vApathyv) November 7, 2014

Twelve characters have been revealed so far, and there are more to be shown, but of the ones we've seen, we have two robots, nine humans, and a gorilla. Of those nine humans, five are women. And not only that, but we have people of different skin tones beyond white (which is typically either European, Australian, or North American representation in games). Symmetra is Indian, Pharah is Egyptian, and Honzo is Japanese.

Mind you, some folks have already accused Blizzard of "appropriating stereotypical aspects of other cultures to layer on top of its white-dude-fantasy-world." I'm not really in much of a position to argue for or against that, mind you, being pasty white and all, but at the same time I'm finding it hard to think of other major games where an Indian or Middle Eastern character is shown in a positive light, or at all, so it's probably a positive step overall.

While they mostly have similar body types, there's still a fair bit of diversity within the set of ladies.

As for the ladies in the game, while I think they could use more diversity in their silhouettes (as they largely all have the exact same body type), @Moxiedoodle summed it better than I could:

@Talarianjs I think there's something for everybody. Various skintones, each one has a unique attitude/flavor...
— Moxie (@Moxiedoodle) November 8, 2014

@Talarianjs some fully clothed, some scanty, some bubbly, some badass, it's reflective of RL diversity. Also...
— Moxie (@Moxiedoodle) November 8, 2014

@Talarianjs They weren't specifically caricatures of women. I could see their characters being male too, if that makes sense.
— Moxie (@Moxiedoodle) November 8, 2014

So kudos, Blizzard. Folks took you to task, and then you stepped up to the plate and maybe not hit a home run, but frankly still did a lot better than you have in the past. And a lot better than many other developers do today. And you did so in a way that shows the game as not being any worse for wear by being inclusive.

There are still white characters, and male-power-fantasy characters, and boob plate and fan service, but there's also covered characters, folks who aren't white, and lots of ladies. As @Moxiedoodle mentions above: there's something for maybe not everyone, but a lot more than there was in prior games. #Blizzard, #Overwatch, #Diversity

Why I Give Final Fantasy XV's All-Male Cast a (Mostly) Pass

I'm a big proponent of having a diverse cast of characters. I've asked Blizzard in the past to increase the different types of people in their Massively Multiplayer Online game, I'm on record for vocally standing up for other people, and a proponent of diversity in gaming in general with conventions like GaymerX and the Diversity Lounge at PAX Prime and East.

Cast Image, courtesy of Kotaku.com

Final Fantasy XV has been announced as having a playable cast that are entirely male. Well, technically there is only a single playable character (Noctis), but the party that goes with is all-male. Director Hajima Tabata echoes Blizzard's "boy's trip" statement:

"The party members being all men was something that [former director] Tetsuya Nomura had kept as a very important element of this journey. He wanted to depict a story in which a group of men, a group of friends, journey throughout the world. So that’s something that I kept in Final Fantasy XV."

So you might be wondering, why the double standard here? Why does Square Enix get a pass from me, but Blizzard does not?

History.

Blizzard has struggled mightily with representation of female characters in their franchises. They've done some good work--Warcraft 3 Jaina comes to mind, and Sylvanas is particularly interesting despite the lack of clothing--but the bad and non-existent outweighs the good. There are other examples, but not many that are anywhere near as prominent.

When you look at the Final Fantasy series, though? Interesting, strong, respectful, and different representations of women abound. There's fanservice-y moments--Tifa from Final  Fantasy VII comes to mind immediately--but she's still a good, rounded character alongside that aspect, which makes her a better character still than most.

(WARNING: SPOILER ALERT FOR PRETTY WELL EVERY FINAL FANTASY GAME)

Final Fantasy III (1990) is the only game in the primary series with no playable ladies.

Final Fantasy VI not just has playable women, but Terra is the primary viewpoint in the first half of the game, and Celes is for the second half. Not only that, but Terra is shown in a mother-role in the second half and clearly struggles with the question of running off to be a hero, or staying and protecting her children. Celes struggles with loyalty and authority. Both characters are extremely powerful and have great development.

Aerith, Final Fantasy VII

Final Fantasy VII has Aerith, who actively chooses to die for the world and for her friends. Independent to a fault, she runs off on her own knowing she puts her friends in danger to do what only she can do. For many folks, her scenes are some of the first in video games that really moved them to tears.

Final Fantasy VIII has Quistis Trepe, an instructor who's incredibly gifted, but has issues handling her success correctly. While Squall is the defacto leader, Quistis is the one with her head screwed on correctly and handing out good advice on what to do.

Quistis, Final Fantasy VIII

Final Fantasy IX brings Freya, a dragoon from a ruined kingdom, compared to the less warrior-like Princess Garnet who does embody a few of the damsel in distress tropes, though she goes looking for help rather than waiting for it to show up. And while not playable for long, Beatrix is a General of the kingdom of Alexandria, and she is pretty badass.

Final Fantasy X, while Tidus may look like the main character, it's really a story about Yuna's pilgrimage to save the world from an ever-regenerating monster. A young woman who marches off to her death with a smile because it will bring joy to the people of Spira, and how she wants her journey to be one full of laughter. While Tidus helps shake up her worldview, ultimately together they triumph without sacrificing her life. Not to mention Lulu's big sister role--and while the belt dress is classic Nomura-fanservice with the fur bra line that would have to be taped to her breasts to stay up the way it does, she's still a great character who has her own worldview changed over the course of the game as well.

Yuna and Lulu, Final Fantasy X (image from http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/Mushroom_Rock)

Final Fantasy X-2 is actually an entirely female cast! Rikku, Paine, and Yuna one year after FFX, living it up as treasure hunters. All three ladies bring formidable and diverse personalities to bear--Rikku being ultra cheerful and melodramatic, Paine being the taciturn one with a terrible past, and Yuna loosening up a bit after being the hero. While one could argue they were sexualized in a number of their costumes (as class changes came about via "dress spheres" which would change their class by changing their costume), for the most part they were just dealing with the world around them, rather than mooning over men. The game actually passes the Bechdel test extremely handily, and is a fun, refreshing change of pace for a Final Fantasy game.

Final Fantasy XI, an MMO like WoW, has a number of prominent female characters, but by far the most popular and representative character of the game is Shantotto, the Tarutaru Black Mage and hero of a number of wars. Actually, you'll notice that the most popular NPCs in FFXI are primarily women.

Shantotto, Final Fantasy XI

Final Fantasy XII plays the same trick as FFX, where the primary character seems to be Vaan and Penelo, street urchins, but in actuality revolves around Princess Ashe, who is fighting to retake her kingdom from an invading force far more powerful than her small country. She's pretty business-like, for good reason, but she's still an impressive character. The game as a whole is less about the characters' individual growth than it is the over-arching plot, however.

Final Fantasy XIII has a cast that's split 50-50 between men and women, but arguably the ladies play the much bigger roles. Lightning, a soldier who's actually pretty badass; Vanille, who apparently grated on a lot of people with her happy go-lucky ways; Fang, Vanille's elder compatriot. The series revolves around Lightning mostly, but Fang and Vanille are integral to the plot, and we learn a lot about them as the game goes on, about how Vanille is compensating for a difficult past, and Fang is there to help her along the way, feeling somewhat responsible for the situation. And even moreso than FFX-2, FFXIII passes the Bechdel test and then some.

Lightning, Final Fantasy XIII

Final Fantasy XIII-2 has Serah, Lightning's sister, to help Lightning throughout the game. Final Fantasy XIII: Lightning Returns is again all about our pink-haired soldier of time and space, being the only playable character throughout the whole game.

Final Fantasy XIV, another MMO, has ladies in a number of prominent positions. The rulers of all three kingdoms are female, and one of the primary NPCs that you interact with throughout your quests, Y'shtola, is a capable White Mage in a very exclusive group of adventurers investigating strange occurrences throughout the land.

Y'shtola, Final Fantasy XIV, A Realm Reborn

All of this to say, Square Enix actually has a pretty good track record for lady characters; far better than Blizzard's. They have a balance between the busty fan service ladies that some people seem to enjoy--I am not one of them, mind you; I'll take the busty fan service men instead, thanks--and characters that are more conservatively dressed. Most of their female characters are well-developed, varied, and interesting. Many of them are even revered by many Final Fantasy fans, with Celes, Terra, Aerith, and Shantotto immediately springing to mind. Balance here is key.

It's both an argument that having female characters is excellent for your game, and also that if Square Enix wants to put out a game with only male characters, I feel like they can do so because they've done pretty well. As a company, they're clearly more about the story and great characters than just having women as props, so I'm less concerned about the prevailing attitude behind the Directors' words. It's not a pattern.

Granted, their timing kind of sucks, given all the issues cropping up recently. But then again, this is a game like seven years in the making so far, so one can't really predict that sort of thing anyhow. All in all, I think I'd rather use the opportunity to highlight places where they've been great, because Square Enix has some awesome characters. Were there any I missed that should be on that list?

#FinalFantasy, #Diversity

The Importance of Speaking Up

A lot of, for the lack of a better term, shit has been going on in the Twitterverse and Blogoshpere the past week, namely yet more death threats and the like being slung at prominent females in our gaming community--though, interestingly enough, none of my friends in real life or on Facebook even noticed this was going on, which really just enforces the idea of the Internet being a number of smaller echo chambers.

As a game developer, as a gamer, as person who has empathy for my fellow humans, I certainly cannot condone such behavior, regardless of whether you agree or disagree with someone's actions. If someone is wrong, you can disagree with them civilly. If someone isn't living up to your moral standards, you can tut-tut them without threatening their person. And if someone is being a jack-ass, you can call them out on it.

Once you've resorted to insults, death threats, or anything of the like, you've signaled that you have nothing more to add to your argument. An old lawyer adage goes:

"If you have the facts on your side, pound the facts. If you have the law on your side, pound the law. If you have neither on your side, pound the table."

What you're doing when you resort to insults is pounding the table. Making lots of noise in the hopes that the loudest argument wins. You're effectively conceding the argument.

Social Contracts

Recently on my Facebook feed there was a discussion about people being jerks. My comment touched upon the idea that ideally someone would be socially castrated in the case where they were acting poorly, and I was called out for it: that we shouldn't be focused on the negative aspects. That social justice shouldn't be used as an attack.

And to an extent, I agree. I dislike the use of "privilege" as a way to shut down conversation, largely because it dilutes the actual meaning of the term and weakens the argument as a whole. The term has a very specific meaning, and is useful in conversation as a way to encapsulate a concept such that you don't need to spew a whole allegory about bicyclists in a car-based society every time you want to talk about it.

But that's not what I meant when I said "socially castrated". Society as an aggregate has a set of social mores (pronounced mawr-eyz) and norms. As something becomes more or less acceptable to society as a whole, members of that society enforce those mores and norms by punishing deviants within said society.

For example, currently, for better or ill, the idea of nudity in media is far worse to those in North American society than violence in media. When television shows breach that social contract, people decry the show and people involved, and in some cases they're even fined (based on the laws created by that society). Whether you agree with it or not personally is largely irrelevant, as it's about the populace in aggregate.

However, individuals in a populace can come together to create movements to change what the social contracts are. And that's where "social justice" comes into play. As more and more people speak up, the needle of culture shifts what is acceptable and what is taboo. Once that shift has gone far enough, society does the rest by tut-tutting those who break that social contract and laws are enacted (or repealed) to solidify said contract.

That's why it's important for as many people to speak up and speak against things like misogyny, bigotry, homophobia, and general jack-ass behavior. The more people speak up, the less acceptable it will become to espouse those ideals.

In before someone complains about censorship, you can still espouse those views, but it doesn't mean you're free from other people judging those views. No law is preventing grandpa today from saying something derogatory about black people, but you would still react and say, "Grandpa, you can't just say that!"

The Silent Majority

On the other hand, not all people will or can speak up. Many don't even know the conversation is occurring (like my Facebook feed), some don't have particularly strong opinions one way or the other, or someone can feel threatened, concerned that if they speak up they will be attacked in some manner: social castration in action.

Story time: when I first moved to the US from Canada, just over seven years ago, I was both really excited and very worried. I was going to the land of opportunity to make pretty much double to triple of what I could ever earn in Canada, but I was also going from a country that had anti-discrimination laws for sexuality and gay marriage to a country that was in the throes of banning gay marriage entirely and had anti-sodomy laws until 2003. Being a second-class citizen because of who I am was a pretty scary idea (as opposed to being a second-class citizen due to immigration laws, but that's something everyone moving to another country generally experiences due to protectionism).

The first few weeks of my job went by, and I started to get into the groove of being in a new country with new coworkers. Then, during an event I said something, probably with a lilt to it, and one of my coworkers responded with, "Could you be a little more straight?"

I was floored. A causally homophobic comment slung in my direction that made me feel unwanted, like complete, utter shit because the implication was that being gay was bad. I didn't have any clue what to do. I didn't understand at the time how the HR policies worked, or even if I did, I didn't know how strictly they'd be enforced. I had just pulled up everything that I owned and knew and wasn't sure if I reported this if I would get fired or embroiled in a conflict that would end with my dismissal, and my dismissal would end up with me being deported back to Canada.

So I stayed silent. I withdrew. I certainly stopped dealing with this person, and to this day anytime I see them it completely ruins my day. Note that I don't work for that employer anymore, but later during said employment I learned that HR totally would've backed me up on it. But I didn't know at the time.

The silent majority isn't tacit approval of one thing or another. The silent majority is just that: silent. Sitting on the wayside and not actively participating in the cultural war for what could be any number of good, bad, or neutral reasons.

On the other hand, the silent majority is perpetuating the status quo. Change doesn't occur in a vacuum. It requires an impetus; if you're not making waves, you're not causing change. So anytime you don't speak up against opinions that are damaging, you're allowing that, whether you like it or not. So by not speaking up against that coworker, either in person or via HR, I was allowing myself to be dehumanized, and other coworkers, too.

At the time, it felt like the right decision, the safe decision. If the same thing were to occur today, I'd denounce them in a heartbeat. It helps that I'm far more confident in who I am as a person, as well as my abilities. Being an awesome software developer with a lot of excellent experience under my belt has freed me to an extent to go against the grain of popular if insular opinion, because even if I were to get fired for it, finding another job in the industry wouldn't be terribly difficult for me. But not everyone has that luxury.

Changing Society

Make no mistake, culture is constantly changing, constantly in a war of differing opinions. From nudity, to violence, to television, to comic books, to video games, to women's suffrage, to African-American civil rights, to LGBT rights, to radio, to women showing some ankle, to eugenics, to language, to cars, to factories, to labour movements and unions, and so on. The list is endless.

And the list is different depending on geography. Australia has different notions of sensibility from the United States, Uganda has different ideals than Canada. Even within the European Union, many countries have extremely different notions. Rural cities versus urban population centers often show radical differences of opinion.

The Internet has had an interesting effect on culture; a globalization of opinion, a community or society separate from the real world that is often seen as a monolithic entity. While it reflects the real world to an extent, the melting pot of cultures that make up the online world means there's a lot of friction because geography has been removed. But at the same time, it's still our community, our world. And it's at the center of today's cultural revolution.

Waves are being made in all directions, and while I'm loathe to admit it, sometimes the loudest argument truly does win, at least for a little bit. Pounding the table does work on occasion. But the more people see that concepts of misogyny, homophobia, bigotry, and the like are unacceptable and dehumanizing, the more people will begin to denounce them publically.

There'll always be a contingent of sociopaths who, regardless of what side they sit on, you'll never convince one way or another, and they'll toss death threats and violence, verbal or physical, at people they disagree with. If possible, don't waste your energy on convincing them. Denounce them, show other people why what they're doing is damaging. But you'll never turn their opinion.

It's the silent majority that you need to get on your side. Convince them that being silent is the wrong thing to do. Appeal to their empathy to show them that we're all just people, and that everyone should be safe in their person. History shows, via Woman's Suffrage, the African-American Civil Rights movement, and LGBT rights in some countries (and ongoing today in the US), that this is how (relatively) peaceful cultural change occurs.

And if you're in the silent majority but don't condone this behavior? Please speak up, if you can! Every voice helps, no matter how small. As I mentioned above, not every can or is in a position to do so. But if you're able? Go for it! The more, the merrier.

It's an incredibly slow and frustrating process. I think we're going to see it get worse before it gets better. But history ultimately is on the side of empathy, not dehumanization, as long as people speak up and speak out.

#Diversity, #Sociology

PAX Prime 2014: Diversity and Handheld Lounges

There'll be further posts on some panels, like Dragon Age: Inquisition, statistics about the video game industry, and some board games that I played that were neat, but today I will be talking about lounges: specifically the diversity and handheld lounges.
 
The Incredible Shrinking Handheld Lounge
 
One of the big pros of PAX has traditionally been a lot of space to sit down on a beanbag and decompress with your 3DS, iPhone, tablet, whatever, or even nap. But there's been a curious trend occurring at PAX Prime where the space set aside for the lounge has been shrinking every year, continually being displaced by Nintendo demo booths.
 

Two small sections. That's it.

It's ridiculous to think that the space given in the photo above is even remotely sufficient for the sheer number of tired attendees. I realize that the AFK space is available if you're overwhelmed, but if you just want to veg and play your DS?
 

This was early in the morning, and represents about 60% of the space available.

PAX Aus admittedly didn't have many beanbags, but the space set aside was generally full after 1 PM nonetheless, and a much bigger area than PAX Prime, with a third of the population. I really don't understand how the PAX organizers can justify taking away the space, especially given the event is supposed to be for the attendees, not the businesses, no?
 

Absolutely glorious. Place beanbags, and they will come.

PAX East is the nirvana of handheld lounges, though. Beanbags as far as the eye can see, and yet still full! Which only proves that given the space, the gamers will fill it. Otherwise you see hallways of people on the cold, hard floor leaning against the wall to play their games. Uncomfortable at best, underfoot and in the way at worst.
 
To be able to get that moment to sit down and get my energy back, I had to go home! So my plea to the PAX organizers is to get rid of the Nintendo demo stations, leave them on the Expo hall floor where they belong, and to bring back the handheld lounge. We need the ability to have downtime and just play our games.
 
Making the Saving Throw for Diversity
 
Some may remember my piece on the Diversity Lounge from PAX East 2014. Well, the organizers took another shot at it for PAX Prime, and I daresay it went over a bit better this time.


The "lounge" on the right, about 10 booths.

It had a couple more booths than East, but the location was much, much better in my humble opinion. Rather than being in a room, it was at the top of the primary escalators to get to the top floor of the Expo Hall. A prime spot to get people's attention, and to get a lot of foot traffic. I ended up chatting with some folks from a couple booths that were at both PAX East and PAX Prime to get their opinions.
 
One of the booths was for AbleGamers, who describe themselves thusly:

The AbleGamers Foundation, also known as AbleGamers Charity, is a 501(C)(3) nonprofit public charity that aims to improve the overall quality of life for those with disabilities through the power of video games.

Another booth I chatted with extensively was Press XY: Exploring Transgender Issues in Gaming.

The prevailing opinion was PAX East was a great first try. On the first day, the doors were mostly shut, meaning it didn't have much visibility into the hallway, whereas once the doors were open, they had a fair bit of foot traffic, and despite not being on the path to the Expo hall, at East they were still on the first floor around a major thoroughfare.

Prime, on the other hand, was a fantastic space because it's just up the escalator before the Expo hall. It's super high visibility and out in the open. People didn't need to walk through any doors to check it out.

The downside to Prime's location, however, was that it was a bit too noisy. There was nowhere really to relax and just chat, or sit on some beanbags and decompress (I'm sensing a theme here for PAX Prime as a whole), or to get away. While there were a couple of tables with chairs in the lounge area, the location really wasn't conducive to using those effectively. And to be fair, again, the AFK Lounge was billed as the place to go if you're overwhelmed, but I think the organizers really underestimate the need for those spaces to just sit down and take a load off.

Finally, it was noticed that while there were a number of booths for LGBT and Women in gaming (hooray!), they still lacked that racial diversity that should also be represented. It was, as one person put it, still pretty white. Regardless, it seemed like Prime was better executed than East, and the feeling was that East was a good jumping off point.

All of which really just feeds into my theory that education spaces and "safe" or relaxation spaces are mutually exclusive. You can't be both without sacrificing something, as people who need to escape aren't in the right mindset to be providing explanations.

Education is incredibly important in my mind because if we aren't teaching folks these things, they'll never really learn. Despite those who decry it as "common sense" and that people should "just know" how to treat people right, I don't think they truly understand until someone shows them why the status quo isn't a good thing. But if you're rightfully angry because you've been treated so poorly your whole life, in real life and on the Internet, you may not be capable of providing that education. That's okay, other people can do that job. Which is why you need to have education as a separate thing from a "relaxation" space.

I think that with Prime really embracing the education side of things, they're truly focusing on the right aspect. While the entire convention should be a "safe space", there's still a need for a place to have some downtime to escape from the hustle and bustle of the convention. But separating the diversity lounge from that relaxation space is, in my mind, the correct thing to do. Focus the lens of the diversity lounge, and truly set the tone for treating other people so much better.

#Diversity, #PAX