I enjoyed reading these brief articles, they raise interesting points and call to attention important issues in this field.

First, the natural debate between the “I code, you code, we code…Why Code?” and the “Learn to Code; Learn Code Culture” articles. The idea that coding is a skill that must be learned for the legitimacy of the work has apparently inspired some debate. Personally, I believe that the Luddite view, to use the author’s words, that not knowing everything about coding is ok, is the minimum involvement necessary. For a digital humanist, at the very least, one needs to understand the concept, and at least enough of the technical aspect to facilitate being properly informed about new practices and developments in the field. And, not that everyone always has to learn everything there will ever be to know, but I also believe that learning as much of the technical skill and culture as possible can only be beneficial. The technical part of digital projects could only be limited, their effectiveness stunted by limited understanding. Collaboration is and will remain to be an important aspect of the digital humanities, but expanding the knowledge and skill base of each individual can only help the field, not hurt it.

Now, concerning the “Some things to think about before you exhort everyone to code” article, this proves exactly why learning the culture of coding is important. Based on my very limited involvement with CIS people, I had no reason to believe that there was such a large gender gap in the world of coding. In conversations and discussions since reading this article, I’ve learned that my experience is atypical. As strange as it sounds, I wouldn’t have known that, it was necessary to avoid sticking solely to the technical readings so that I may understand the world those technical skills are used in. And, it presents a possible future study: women’s digital history, an examination of the gender gap in the world of coding in general or the digital humanities specifically.