On Sun, Mar 28, 2010 at 5:36 AM, Bert Freudenberg <b...@freudenbergs.de> wrote: > On 28.03.2010, at 07:54, kirby urner wrote: >> >> I tried introducing "FOSS witch" on Diversity (python.org) and >> appeared to get no takers. >> >> Hacker, pirate, wizard, geek, dictator... but not witch. > > Google for "haecksen". > > The German word for witch is "Hexe", plural "Hexen". The German pronunciation > of "Haeckse" is almost identical to "Hexe". It was created as a play on the > word "Hacker" which is masculine in German, the canonical femininum would be > "Hackerin" (i.e., 'hacktress'). But "Haeckse" is much more playful and > creative so this is how some women in the CCC started to call themselves. > Also it sounds decidedly unixy, some old-school hackers still insist the > plural of "unix" is "unixen" and the boxes running them are "boxen". > > Since "witch" nowadays has a generally positive connotation (not the least > because of J.K.Rowling's and other's books) it at least elicits a giggle when > telling girls about this. In Germany anyway. > > - Bert -
Very cool Bert, and also encouraging. Thx! I'll share with other members of the coven. :) Kirby _______________________________________________ Edu-sig mailing list Edu-sig@python.org http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/edu-sig