Kathy Sierra
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Kathy Sierra (née Dorris) (born June 19, 1957, Fresno, California) is a programming instructor and game developer.
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[edit] Head First
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For more details on this topic, see Head First (book series).
Sierra is the co-creator of the Head First series of books on computer programming, along with her partner, Bert Bates. The series, which began with Head First Java in 2003, takes an unorthodox, visually intensive approach to the process of teaching programming. Sierra's books in the series have received three nominations for Product Excellence Jolt Awards, winning in 2005 for Head First Design Patterns, and were recognized on Amazon.com's yearly top 10 list for computer books from 2003 to 2005.
[edit] Education and career
Sierra attended Cal Poly San Luis Obispo with a major in exercise physiology and spent 10 years working in the fitness industry. She changed careers after attending programming classes at UCLA, later returning to teach a course on "new media interactivity" for UCLA Extension.
She says that her interest in cognitive science was motivated by her epilepsy, a condition for which she takes anti-seizure medication. "My interest in the brain began when I had my first grand mal seizure at the age of four," she wrote on her personal weblog.[1]
She was the lead programmer on the computer games Terratopia, a 1996 children's adventure game released by Virgin Sound & Vision, and All Dogs Go to Heaven, a film-based game released as a free cereal premium by MGM. She also worked as a master trainer for Sun Microsystems, teaching Java instructors how to introduce new Java technologies and developing certification exams. In 1998, she founded the Java programmer's online community JavaRanch.
[edit] Cancelled appearance at O'Reilly ETech conference and online harassment
In March 2007, Sierra abruptly cancelled her appearance at the O'Reilly ETech conference in San Diego. In a statement to the BBC she referenced posts on her own blog and site Meankids.org which she found threatening and sexually graphic. She stated this made her afraid to leave her house.[2] The BBC reported these as death threats, citing examples from Meankids.org such as a photoshopped image of Sierra next to a noose.[3] Comments to her own blog included one which began "i hope someone slits your throat. …". After reading these Sierra wrote in a follow-up post: "I have cancelled all speaking engagements. I am afraid to leave my yard, I will never feel the same. I will never be the same."[3]
After further investigation into the issue Alan Herrell, a well-known US blogger who had posted some of the Meankids.org content, stated that he was a victim of identity theft by an unknown hacker. Two other individuals who had been revealed as authors of threatening content on Meankids.org, including the noose picture cited by the BBC, also publicly stated they had no plans to harm Sierra. The identities of at least two other commenters remain unknown.[4]
Another well-known blogger whose comments were referenced was Chris Locke. On April 2, 2007, Sierra and Locke released a joint statement about the event.[5]
In part because of these later retractions and/or clarifications, there was some criticism that media and blogger fact-checking was too lackadaisical and showed only Sierra's side of the story. The Guardian ran a column suggesting that she would not have been taken as seriously if she were not a "Pretty White Woman"[6], and that the event had been fundamentally an "attack from a high-audience blogger" which the lower-audience commenters could not effectively defend themselves against.
The issue triggered public discussion on the concept of a bloggers' code of conduct. Some bloggers, including Robert Scoble, author of the technology blog Scobleizer, temporarily suspended their blogs in a show of support for Sierra.[3] One of the larger issues Scoble felt was highlighted by the incident was online hostility to women: "It's this culture of attacking women that has especially got to stop," Scoble said " ...[W]henever I post a video of a female technologist there invariably are snide remarks about body parts and other things that simply wouldn't happen if the interviewee were a man."[3]
Sierra wrote on her blog: "If you want to do something about it, do not tolerate the kind of abuse that includes threats or even suggestions of violence (especially sexual violence). Do not put these people on a pedestal. Do not let them get away with calling this 'social commentary,' 'protected speech,' or simply 'criticism'."[3]
[edit] Bibliography
- Head First Java (O'Reilly Publishing, 2005) ISBN 0-596-00920-8
- SCJP Sun Certified Programmer for Java 5 Study Guide (McGraw-Hill Osborne, 2005) ISBN 0-07-225360-6
- Head First Design Patterns (O'Reilly Publishing, 2004) ISBN 0-596-00712-4
- Head First Servlets and JSP (O'Reilly Publishing, 2004) ISBN 0-596-00540-7
- Head First EJB (O'Reilly Publishing, 2003) ISBN 0-596-00571-7
- Sun Certified Programmer & Developer for Java 2 Study Guide (McGraw-Hill Osborne, 2002) ISBN 0-07-222684-6
- Mike Meyers' Java 2 Certification Passport (McGraw-Hill Osborne, 2001) ISBN 0-07-219366-2
[edit] References
- ^ Kathy Sierra (2005-04-11). Who's in charge--you or your brain?. Creating Passionate Users. Retrieved on 2007-04-12.
- ^ Mitch Wagner (2007-03-26). Death Threats Force Designer To Cancel ETech Conference Appearance. Information Week. Retrieved on 2007-03-27.
- ^ a b c d e "Blog death threats spark debate", BBC News, BBC, 2007-03-17.
- ^ Dylan Tweney (2007-04-16). Kathy Sierra Case: Few Clues, Little Evidence, Much Controversy. Wired. Retrieved on 2008-01-04.
- ^ Kathy Sierra; Chris Locke. Coordinated Statements on the Recent Events. Retrieved on 2007-04-12.
- ^ Seth Finkelstein (2007-04-19). Accusations of sex and violence were bound to grab the headlines. Retrieved on 2008-01-04.
