Summary: Contrary to what corporate media wants ordinary folks to think, the Free software community is far more amicable, welcoming and polite than the proprietary software companies which command that media; if you come to cause trouble and inflame feuds, however, we'll respond accordingly (and defensively)
To some people, computer code isn't readable; they're not fluent at it because they weren't trained to do so. It doesn't make them bad people. But for the same reason I stay away from chemistry (which I only studied at school) it makes sense for people who lack coding competencies not to lecture coders on supposedly "offensive" variable names (they're usually not offensive at all, but for those who cannot understand code only the English words stand out).
In IRC, we recently had some very lengthy discussions about this. Nothing rude or anything, and moreover it's all public (we release unredacted logs on a daily basis; redactions are rare).
Free software welcomes everyone, not just developers. We need documentation, art, users' feedback, et cetera et cetera. But let's remember not to step on the toes of people whose expertise differs greatly from ours. Overstepping boundaries leads to infighting and when the fighting is sponsored by companies like Google, IBM, and Microsoft the fighting is potentially intentional (by design).
Free software is already very inclusive and diverse (compared to other areas in the realm of computer science -- a realm long dominated by coders who are male). We don't discriminate based on job interviews. We don't 'fire' people.
"We don't discriminate based on job interviews. We don't 'fire' people."Come and join us. Help us make the world a better place. But don't come just to troll us for career-climbing ego-boosting tantrum-throwing episodes. If we respond assertively, maybe you deserved it. And not because of race or gender. ⬆