What?
An AMA (Ask Me Anything) session with Sir Tim Berners-Lee, on Reddit. Sir Tim Berners-Lee not only invented the World Wide Web (WWW), but also made it freely available, thus giving up any royalties. He is, without a doubt, one of my personal heroes.
Where?
Posted by @Wired, on Twitter.
So what?
The AMA session with Sir Tim Berners-Lee (which is archived here) was on the topic of the future of technology. At one point, user bhalp1 asked Sir Tim what he though about the harassment and threats faced by many women on the Internet, to which the WWW inventor replied:
I think that the mistreatment/abuse/harassment of women is a very serious issue. I think in general boys need to learn early on to have and to show total respect for all women. If you look back at your online behavior and realize you have made even one off-color remark, then cringe and never do it again. It has a massive negative affect. It is not funny. It is not cute.
Maybe it is predictable that Sir Tim Berners-Lee would say so. Maybe it won’t make a difference to many current online trolls. Still, I loved that he took such a clear stance against the mistreatment of women, not just online but in general. I only wish he had gone beyond saying that the person making such a comment should ‘cringe and never do it again’ to actually say that s/he should take very concrete steps to repair the harm caused, because misogyny is not a victimless crime.
What caught your eye on the web, this week?
Ana Canhoto 