I think she had a much larger part in this than you're admitting. If she had asked the guys to stop without posting it on twitter, then it remains a small issue and the employer gives them a slap on the wrist at worst. That is how that situation plays out most of the time; someone says something offensive, another employee keeps it in the company and usually in the circle of coworkers, and the issue is dealt with by a manager or community, whichever is most effective. But she brought it to a public forum, a very public forum, and thus is spun out in to something big when it really shouldn't have been, from everything I've seen. Big Dongles is hard to use in an actually offensive sentence without a myriad of other words that seem to warrant more attention. Either way, if you bring something negative, no matter how small, to a public forum like the internet you are knowingly terminating someone's job in most cases. When you fuck up in private nobody cares, because customers can't see it. Once in public? Anything that gets out that's negative is somebody's fault. That being said, yes, she has a right to speak her mind, and her company has every right to fire her. I certainly wouldn't employ a person who complained about colleagues on a public forum, especially on twitter. There's a certain level of trust you break by doing that, and you can't recover that easily. It'd be really helpful if we could get some clue as to what the jokes were. Like other people sitting near these two guys? I'd be a lot less sympathetic if they said something horrible like "all bitches be chokin' on my big dongle also I hate minorities."
You get some insight from the guy who was fired here: My second comment is this, Adria has an audience and is a successful person of the media. Just check out her web page linked in her twitter account, her hard work and social activism speaks for itself. With that great power and reach comes responsibility. As a result of the picture she took I was let go from my job today. Which sucks because I have 3 kids and I really liked that job. She gave me no warning, she smiled while she snapped the pic and sealed my fate. Let this serve as a message to everyone, our actions and words, big or small, can have a serious impact. I will be at pycon 2014, I will joke and socialize with everyone but I will also be mindful of my audience, accidental or otherwise. Again, I apologize.Hi, I'm the guy who made a comment about big dongles. First of all I'd like to say I'm sorry. I really did not mean to offend anyone and I really do regret the comment and how it made Adria feel. She had every right to report me to staff, and I defend her position. However, there is another side to this story. While I did make a big dongle joke about a fictional piece hardware that identified as male, no sexual jokes were made about forking. My friends and I had decided forking someone's repo is a new form of flattery (the highest form being implementation) and we were excited about one of the presenters projects; a friend said "I would fork that guys repo" The sexual context was applied by Adria, and not us.
Eh. I guess I'm of the opinion that if you vocalize things in public that others can hear, the people hearing it are under no obligation to censor the fact that they are offended by said public speech and should be bound to communicate their offense privately only, with the implication being that any fallout would now be their fault for being offended "out loud." The thought is actually absurd to me. And I definitely feel that the employer is responsible for the employer's response. Nobody else.If she had asked the guys to stop without posting it on twitter, then it remains a small issue and the employer gives them a slap on the wrist at worst.
They're not legally obligated to censor the fact, but with the way society is structured these days, I think there's an unwritten social obligation to do so, at least in terms of social media. Business monitor their employees social media accounts, and when you bring negative things to those places, you take a great deal of risk. Its the unfortunate reality of a world where you no longer have a private life, in any place or at any time. People like to joke, and jokes usually aren't nice: hence why they're kept for close friends. Sometimes people make jokes in public without thinking about the situation, and sometimes other people can hear them. Yes, they can get offended, and yes they can speak their mind, but they shouldn't bring it to a place where the joke becomes inescapable. I'd rather not live in a world where I have to constantly walk on eggshells or risk losing my job. That breeds an environment which stifles creativity and honesty, because you begin to worry about who you offend and if you should ever speak your mind. Its just not worth having a slightly safer space in public.