How to Apologize
I'm a bit torn on this whole issue, I wonder if somebody could give me some perspective. There are two conflicting things I don't like here. In the first place, I don't like when people are so sensitive that there's no room for a harmless joke. In most cases I really would say "oh come on lighten up." On the other hand, among us computer programmers, there's so much social ineptness (and perhaps outright disrespect for women, but I'm giving the benefit of the doubt because I really don't understand why it would be particularly prevalent here, other than perhaps a result of ineptness) on the part of the males that a lot of it really isn't so harmless. Not necessarily because it sets out to make women uncomfortable, it's just <i>not funny</i>. And if it's not genuinely funny, the only conclusion women (having better taste than men, I hope I'm not sexist for saying so) can draw is that they're being disrespected.<p>I feel like this joke is somewhere on the line. In a world where people aren't putting pornography in their slide presentations for no apparent reason, maybe we could take this joke at face value (ha ha, we're all sex deprived computer nerds who would do anything to interact with women for a second). On the other hand it's not particularly funny (and I didn't really get the joke before they explained it), and in this world I can have some sympathy for the women.<p>I guess my ultimate point is, and I'd like to hear what others here think, I hope it's not too late to turn this around, such the solution is more genuine respect and tact so we can safely go back to actual harmless jokes, rather than this turning into another "PC police" scenario that's going to start making us uncomfortable for different reasons.