Kyle Pollich
Jul 30, 2017 · 3 min read

As a member of the Tech Lancaster Slack group, I would like to apologize for the disrespect and lack of tact you encountered from members of our community during this ordeal. I’d like to also say that the opinions in this response represent only my own personal thoughts, and I am not a moderator or representative of Tech Lancaster as an organization. I was primarily a bystander and gave one message of input trying to diffuse some tension during this whole ordeal.

This situation was obviously handled in a overly public manner, and the drama that’s come forth as a result is more than any online community would prefer.

However, I do feel that you’ve neglected some details that have painted our small community in an overly negative light. I have my fair share of gripes about the politics, attitude, and ideology that permeate the Lancaster technology community — believe me. In this matter though, I feel that there is some context lacking and some of the members of our community have been misrepresented.

The post that was deleted was not just a harmless link to https://21.co/ (which as far as I can tell is a legitimate service), but it was a referral link. I unfortunately don’t have a screenshot or copy of the exact text of the post, but I recall there being a signing bonus of $100 (not sure if that’s USD or BTC) for people that signed up for the service and connected their LinkedIn account. Now, disregarding the content and context of the actual 21.co service, this kind of post would get flagged as inappropriate solicitation in any online community. I wasn’t involved in the decision to delete the post, and I’m sorry that it being deleted was handled as poorly as it was, but I think the decision to delete it is entirely defensible. There is a stark difference between sharing links to new technologies or newly opening local establishments and soliciting money directly from the members of the Slack. A post about 21.co as an interesting service or an interesting use case for cryptocurrency is appropriate and welcome content. Solicitations for referral bonuses are not. Forgive me if my recollection of the exact content of the original post is not fully accurate — I recognize I may be incorrect on a few details here.

There are other gripes I could make about how the situation was handled from either side of the aisle here, but I think it’s best for both parties to move on and learn from the drama that unfolded a few days ago. The Tech Lancaster slack has recognized the opportunity to improve our inclusion for new members and to remove the unfortunate intimidation that many people feel around the community. I will say this, though: having our community immediately described as a “boys club” (which it is, fair enough — though unintentionally I assure you) and having accusations of misogyny thrown out so readily hurt me. Your points about local sisterhood and empowering woman are eloquently conveyed, and extremely important, but accusing this entire community so readily of tremendous bias was — in my opinion — disrespectful and not conducive to a productive dialog.

Again, I am deeply sorry for the stress you’ve dealt with and how poorly this situation was handled by our community. We will continue to make strides in inclusion and respect for all people. Thank you for the article and the opportunity to better this community. I hope to see you around more in the Tech Lancaster Slack channel or at our meetups.

Kyle Pollich

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Web Developer, League of Legends enthusiast, TSM fan, drummer.