This inspired some thoughts about 'gatekeeping' and why even the concept of it to me is so preposterous (a thread). https://twitter.com/nicolefv/status/1346181969323806720

2/ In High School, now that I think about it, it really started in Jr. High, I followed in my sister's footsteps and gave speech & drama a go. I had no clue if I was any good. I was shy AF but at that age where I'd try anything.

3/ Now as anyone with a shred of honesty will tell you, absolutely no one is good at this from the beginning, like with most skills. I was horrible, but I had fun trying to think on my feet. And the people I worked with were going through the same process.

4/ Fast forward to HS and you're still in the 'I suck, but I'm getting better' mode. And then I added debate to create the speech, drama, debate trifecta. What was great from everyone I interacted with was how supportive everyone was. And each community was a little different,

5/ BUT everyone was supportive. Were there egos around? Sure, I'd be lying if I said no. But everyone there found their place/niche and just worked at it. And even if someone did cop an attitude, you had other supports to get you through.

6/ As I got older, nurturing that as a leader came naturally. It was so innate to simply tell someone, 'Listen, this is going to suck at the beginning, and you'll be as uncomfortable as all get out, but here's the deal: it get's better.'

7/ College came, definitely more egos in the mix, but same nurturing experiences, for literally anyone that wanted to get involved (at this point I had jettisoned drama and mostly focused on debate). I changed schools, same experience, but I had to create the program from the

8/ ground up (with some help). The upside is we sustained the same attitude, all newcomers welcome. Embrace the suck, have fun, get better. I carried this into my professional life.

9/ So when I see @nicolefv talk about gatekeeping. I definitely understand what she's referring to and I know the feelings are valid. What I don't get is why anyone would do this? Like with my school pursuits, I never remotely entertained the notion that I had a monopoly on

10/ any knowledge in IT, quite the opposite. The more I learned, the more I realized how much I didn't know. And with the pace of technological change today (good grief!), that feeling has expanded considerably. So why tell someone not to try when someday they might be helping

11/ YOU fill a gap or helping someone you know? It just doesn't make sense to me.

All that said, I know I check nearly every box on the privilege spectrum and my experiences have definitely been shaped by some of this. But I've also had the benefit of a ton of experiences with

/12 people from diverse backgrounds and experiences and there's no question I'm a better person for it. InfoSec & SW Dev definitely has an incredibly strong sense of this community I speak of, especially on twitter. Now...

13/ there are gatekeepers here as well, and all kinds of horrible people willing to tear others down. But I still feel strongly that they are the minority in both community. So embrace those that include and nurture, and shed/ignore the others.

14/ Together we'll make this a better space. If you made it this far, thanks for your attention. If you didn't, that's ok too. Fin.