[Final update: DNLee’s blog post has been reinstated at Scientific American. I’m therefore removing it from here; traffic should go to her.]
[Update: The original offender, “Ofek” at Biology Online, has now been fired, and the organization has apologized. Scientific American editor Mariette DiChristina has also offered a fuller explanation.]
Something that happens every day, to me and many other people who write things: you get asked to do something for free. There’s an idea that mere “writing” isn’t actually “work,” and besides which “exposure” should be more than enough recompense. (Can I eat exposure? Can I smoke it?)
You know, that’s okay. I’m constantly asking people to do things for less recompense than their time is worth; it’s worth a shot. For a young writer who is trying to build a career, exposure might actually be valuable. But most of the time the writer will politely say no and everyone will move on.
For example, just recently an editor named “Ofek” at Biology-Online.org asked DNLee to provide some free content for him. She responded with:
Thank you very much for your reply.
But I will have to decline your offer.
Have a great day.
Here’s what happens less often: the person asking for free content, rather than moving on, responds by saying
Because we don’t pay for blog entries?
Are you an urban scientist or an urban whore?
Where I grew up, when people politely turn down your request for free stuff, it’s impolite to call them a “whore.” It’s especially bad when you take into account the fact that we live in a world where women are being pushed away from science, one where how often your papers get cited correlates strongly with your gender, and so on.
DNLee was a bit taken aback, with good reason. So she took to her blog to respond. It was a colorful, fun, finely-crafted retort — and also very important, because this is the kind of stuff that shouldn’t happen in this day and age. Especially because the offender isn’t just some kid with a website; Biology Online is a purportedly respectable site, part of the Scientific American “Partners Network.” One would hope that SciAm would demand an apology from Ofek, or consider cutting their ties with the organization.
Sadly that’s not what happened. If you click on the link in the previous paragraph, you’ll get an error. That’s because Scientific American, where DNLee’s blog is hosted, decided it wasn’t appropriate and took it down.
It’s true that this particular post was not primarily concerned with conveying substantive scientific content. Like, you know, countless other posts on the SciAm network, or most other blogs. But it wasn’t about gossip or what someone had for lunch, either; interactions between actual human beings engaged in the communication of scientific results actually is a crucial part of the science/culture/community ecosystem. DNLee’s post was written in a jocular style, but it wasn’t only on-topic, it was extremely important. Taking it down was exactly the wrong decision.
I have enormous respect for Scientific American as an institution, so I’m going to hope that this is a temporary mistake, and after contemplating a bit they decide to do the right thing, restoring DNLee’s post and censuring the guy who called her a whore. But meanwhile, I’m joining others by copying the original post here. Ultimately it’s going to get way more publicity than it would have otherwise. Maybe someday people will learn how the internet works.
Here is DNLee. (Words cannot express how much I love the final picture.)
——————————————————–
(This is where I used to mirror the original blog post, which has now been restored.)
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“Words cannot express how much I love the final picture.”
Allow me to try: “me too!”
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Science is not something in which you need to depend on other to get a result, if one has good skill then there should be no reason to say that only because of some biological difference one can’t do well good in a certain field.
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They just misunderstand what a whore really is. Take a moment to read below and see what I mean.
PeAcE of MiNd…
We here at Horbegon believe that men and women alike equally share the esteemed opportunity to rid themselves of a whore in today’s society. This whore can be literal or figurative, and can be a person, place or thing. It can even be an idea or a bad habit. We honestly don’t care what your whore is; just as long as you want to get rid of it.
WhY dID wE dO tHiS ?
This idea, this concept, this action, this statement, this observation (hell, even this proper noun) started as a joke amongst friends. And hilarity ensued…
First and foremost, we thought the whole concept was pretty damn funny. With the creation of Horbegon, you now have a legitimate reason to discuss all the creative ways to “get a whore to be gone”. For those who have a burning desire to never see or hear from someone, place, thing, or idea again, you now have a way to subtly express yourself with a stylish t-shirt, and without having to share a cell with a person of questionable motivation for the rest of your life.
Secondly, we feel that dumping baggage, whether tangible or ideal, is an effective way to positively influence one’s well-being. Carrying a chip on your shoulder is not good for one’s constitution. It can lead a person to live a life of misery and self-pity, and prevent the necessary healing required for true happiness and serenity.
want to see our shirts? http://www.horbegon.com
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I’ve been thinking long and hard about this incident and what I should really say, because as a woman who has had the same thing happen, I should really have something to say.
One of the reason I started to consistently write comments for this blog had a lot to do with knowing very little about physics and wanting to get answers for a lot of the questions I had (I immediately agreed with Sean about violations in quantum mechanics.) Giving out ideas scared me, one because of how little I know, and two, god forbid an idea that came about because of a good drinking night just so happens to be nobel peace prize stuff? And what’s the chance a good idea will get stolen? I much rather get paid for a good idea than have some retard that knows nothing about vectors get paid for an idea I came up with, it has nothing to do with being “Urban” it’s basic self respect.
Now as far as being called a whore: Putting it out there (No pun intended…) was the best thing that girl could have did. Why treat a magazine with any kind of professional respect when it’s writers call women whores for not being able to steal an idea with permission? That guy pretty much said “Because you wont give me your idea for free you’re a whore.” And believe me, Scientific American is on my shit list to begin with.
In my own experience with being called a whore, it’s been for the same reason. With the exception that the insult was said to make me feel stupid, not to use me or possibly an idea I have. Let’s put it this way: It was not I can’t have your idea you’re a whore, it was more to just call me a prostitute for coming up with a good idea. “Do you give head?” must be Columbia’s school motto or something. My love goes out to this girl for serious.