&gt; most hackerspaces tend to be full of dudes, or more specifically, white dudes.<p>&gt; Women and people of color join hackerspaces all the time ... “Our geek cred is constantly challenged or belittled ... some dude is going to come up to you and act like you need his expert lessons in how to hack.”<p>If &quot;white dudes&quot; are becoming more aware that women and minorities are getting into tech and wanting to get into tech, many of them will want to help in any way they can, including asking if you need help.  Saying that this is belittling is saying that there is malicious intent, which is alienating to anyone who wants to help spread their knowledge to new people.