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It was this tweet that cost former web developer for SendGrid (who calls herself a developer evangelist), Adria Richards her job…and her normal life.

While attending the US PyCon developer conference in California, Richards noticed an inappropriate conversation carrying on behind her. The men at the conference made explicit jokes about “forking” and “big dongles,” and Adria snapped a photo, expressing her disdain for the tasteless jokes via Twitter.

Once Adria began tweeting about the jokes, she reached out to @PyCon and they expressed their gratitude:

Must Read: The Tech World Is A Man’s World, Which Is Why The Samsung Galaxy S IV Launch Was Sexist

Check out some of the story from Adria’s personal blog, But You’re A Girl,

I know it’s important to pick my battles.

I know I don’t have to be a hero in every situation.

Sometimes I just want to go to a conference and be a geek.

But…

like Popeye, I couldn’t “stands it no more”

Luckily, Adria wasn’t the only one who lost her job. One of the men involved in the junior high school level jokes was also fired from his developer job at PlayHaven. That’s comforting, although, it still doesn’t explain why Adria had to lose her job too! Maybe the CEO at SendGrid, Jim Franklin could put this into perspective:

“What we do not support was how she reported the conduct. Her decision to tweet the comments and photographs of the people who made the comments crossed the line. Publicly shaming the offenders — and bystanders — was not the appropriate way to handle the situation.

Her decision to tweet the comments and photographs of the people who made the comments crossed the line.”

Crossed the line?! What would have been a better way for Richards to handle the situation? Speak to the men about their silly jokes, be scoffed at and possibly tweeted about by them? It seems even Richard’s former employee has already turned their back on her. But that doesn’t mean she’s not getting the support she deserves:

https://twitter.com/teklataylor/status/316210224379871234

Adria’s job wasn’t the only thing she lost. She’s now stepped into the curious world of infamy. Her name will always be synonymous with whistle-blowing, no matter what she goes on to do. The ever-vicious social media world has already opened their mouths to spit venom at Richards, using derogatory terms from c*nt to rape:

Richards, however, isn’t allowing this incident to strip her of her voice. She may be without a job, but she’s got self-expression. On her blog, But You’re A Girl, Richards opens up and says, “Women in technology need consistent messaging from birth through retirement they are welcome, competent and valued in the industry.”

If you remember nothing else about Adria, remember that she’s not a victim. Despite losing her jobs, having her life and virtue threatened, she’s standing strong. “Not all men at tech conferences are like these guys. Not every woman who attends a tech conference is a victim in waiting. Yesterday the future of programming was on the line and I made myself heard.”

Do you hear Adria? Let’s chat!

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