I wish I was there... you have a link to the pictures?

Of course Tom's Hardware don't see what the fuss is all about... It's quite evident (from Tom's christmas specials, etc.) that this site is run by some 45+ years old, horny old men. Wake up! It's a new century! Show some respect...

I don't want to be associated with computing if it entails lap-dancers!

It was for training concentration under any circumstance, like in 'swordfish'.

Jocke 10/21/2009 12:19 PM :


Why dont you show some respect? Stripping is a recognised job, and you shouldnt discriminate against them by saying Stripping isnt a respectful job in this new century.

Earn minimum wage cleaning someones office (and consequently every one elses mess), or get a decent wage by stripping for some harmless geeks..... which job is more degrading?

handling tech and girls and the same time is well within my TDP .

ill tell u what . these geeks did not know how to react to the situation or manage their excitement/emotions instead blame it on the organizers . looks like they'll never understand the difference between a dancer and a hoe . or they were gay .

and yes i support "safcmanfr" for the above comment . these guys are rather too conservative . they are the same who in the foolishness of being aloof from girls are the first to condemn them indirectly in such situations .

After messing up a Google partnership and a Microsoft acquisition, Yahoo make up for it with a skin show.

Fair enough I guess.

And +1 to all those recognising lap-dancing as a genuine profession that requires skill and training. And as is already stated I'm sure the only people complaining about this were the tech nerds who can't handle a women unless she's written in assembly.

if these people go to harvard or even some second grade mba college , they'll never excel . there is a natural connection between s3x and marketing . this is like not liking chocolates . now , on second thoughts everyone likes chocolates , girls and dancers and art but some weak men are too weak to acknowledge their own testosterone .

the poor guy in black T looks like he needs someone's permission to enjoy the fun moment as originally planned and envisioned by Yahoo management .

Anyway, that's not lap dancing. That's AV Idol mixed with a touch of J-Pop.

BIG difference.

safcmanfr 10/21/2009 12:36 PM:
Well, what job have you chosen?
I bet don't even have a job...
I bet you sit in your mom's basement watching porn all day.
And you certainly don't have a girlfriend or a wife or a daughter. Because then you would very well understand what I mean.

too late...
is it me or the girl in the back has very thin thighs??

Some of the comments are missing the point that this article isn't about the lap dancers, or whether that is an acceptible profession. It's about yahoo's decision and whether it was appropriate for the convention.

If the hackers had been brought up on stage and a priest came out to give them communion, that would have been inappropriate, even though being a priest is a fine career and many people take communion from priests. It just isn't appropriate for the convention.

Not everyone wants to get a lap dance, whether or not they think lap dancing is an ok profession. (And not liking lap dances doesn't mean one doesn't like s3x, as one poster implied.) Suppose one of the hackers selected were married, or in a monogamous relationship? He could have felt uncomfortable. And in general a convention organizer should not make the attendees feel uncomfortable.

By all means go out and enjoy s3x, or have a lap dance... but not as an official part of a convention.

These girls didn't strip. They gave a lap dance. There is a difference.

cyberkuberiah 10/21/2009 12:47 PM:
You're calling ME conservative?
To me the word "conservative" means someone who wants to conserve old and existing values and morals. Now, do you think that men's exploitation of women is a new thing? Do you think it's a liberal thing? In my opinion, YOU are the conservative one here! I consider it conservative to continue oppressing women like men always have for hundreds of years.

...and for the record: I DO have a wife and I've had lots of girlfriends in my life. I really think that it's onkly geeks that have to pay for a girl to give them attention.
And I also have a daughter. I don't want her to grow up in a world were the female body is a merchandise. It's as simple as that.

I can agree that a lapdance would have been a bit out of context.
Stripping is a recognised job.
Lapdancing is a recognised job.

The body is not a thing of shame. - mine might be, but that will be the years of beer and an office job.

It's you - most of her leg is catching shadow from the chair and some of the projected image.

What are they complaining about??? jeez. They are just trying to make their way through college.

Lap dances are good for you... and the guys didn't even have to pay for it.

Hell, in many gaming cons... we have the booth babes wearing less. Get over them selves.

actually I have a job in IT - thats computers to you (project management to be precise) - I'm 25 years old, I have a wife, and plan to start a family in a couple of years.

oh and i started my job after university with a $60k a year salary.

What do you do ?

nelson_nel 10/21/2009 1:51 PM :

Job description is different, but both are respectable jobs so they are the same in that sense.

@ Jockee,

Nope, you're not conservative, cos prostitution is the oldest profession in the world and it sure sounds like you wont be ok to protect that! (I think it should be legalised so it can be controlled and stop young girls from being forced into it, If the women does it by choice, well thats HER choice).

I would say you were a prude, anti-femininist (against the sexual liberation of women), and a stuck up hypocrite*.

If I was a stripper/lap dancer on here i would be extremely offended by your comments. They are both respectable jobs, as long as it is the womens own personal choice.



*cos you cant tell me you never looked at porn before. (not that i expect you to admit it).

So, go to a developer convention. Get pulled up on stage in front of everybody. Have some woman who does not care whether I'm alive or dead tomorrow try to get me aroused.

On what planet does that sound like fun? Tell you what, gentlemen, try going into your office and acting like Yahoo did. Let me know how the sexual harassment lawsuit turns out.

More pics/vids or GTFO!

No don't apologize, just send me those hack girls ^_^. Seriously though, people being so offended by this that Yahoo had to apologize seems a little ridiculous. Now I could understand if they were doing it naked, not that the straight guys would complain but some women would most certainly be offended , but this gesture was simply made in good fun.

Yea cause this is the FIRST AND ONLY TIME something like this has happened at a convention. Just an FYI, this is NOTHING new, conventions are 1 for info and 2 to get away and have some fun, this does happen, it's just now there are more ways to get video and pics out there and get caught. Yahoo does not feel bad about this, they only apologized cause they got called out on it, that is all.

Boy am I old (grin). I am far from prudish, but this was a stupid idea on many fronts. First of all, it is inappropriate and has little to do with anyone liking sex or not. This idea came from the mind of someone who still thinks like a 14 year old. It wasn't a porn convention, or stripper convention, it was about developers. The only think that lap dance was suppose to develop was wood... no coding involved.

Secondarily, for all the guys on here that want to tell women that stripping, lap dancing, and prostitution are good solid respectable professions. Then encourage your sisters, daughters, wives and mothers to go for it. Save yourself a lot of money and tell your daughters to forget about college and get on the Pole. It's respectable and empowering .. right?

If it is such a good marketing idea, go into your bosses office right now and tell him you want lap dancers for you next company meeting. Go tell you fellow female employees the same thing. Better, go tell your female boss that you want lap dances at your next company meeting. Go get a few dances at lunch and put it on your expense report and explain at how appropriate it is. Go look for a new job.

This isn't about equality of sex. If it was, they would have had male strippers up there for female attendees. You can fool yourself and your friends by the water cooler by saying how cool this is. Fool yourself into thinking that paying a woman for sex is somehow a feminist thing to do (I am still laughing about that one).

I'm a guy and god knows I love to have a good time, but this was stupid and inappropriate for this venue. If they wanted lap dancers and strippers then they could have went out AFTER the convention, like most adults do.

I think the female friends I know are either odd or people makes things out to be worse then they are, my female friends are the type to be up on the stage getting the lap dances from those girls, fun to hang with anywhere, maybe I just attract the fun ones *shrug*.

Lap dance isn't bad, what are they complaining about. Sheesh.

Wow, I must be old fashioned, but beautiful dancing women will always be a winning combination in my book.

Totally appropriate, if you ask me... The only problem is they didn't offer any male lap dances for women.

The word, "exploitation" implies that women are taken advantage of without mutual benefit. This is certainly not the case here. Those women probably made more money in a few hours of work, than most people do in a week (and for some people, a month!). So where is the exploitation? No one is forcing them into that line of work. In fact, to be any good, they actually take classes on various forms of seductive dance. How is that any different than those of us who take classes on network security or VLSI design? Most people work jobs that they really don't like... are they being exploited?

And, honestly, what business is it of yours anyway? What someone does with THEIR body is THEIR business. I personally think people should be able to sell themselves, or even pieces of themselves, if they so choose. You cannot legally sell one of your organs, but you can give it away. And in death, your organs can be harvested to the financial benefit of many others. Isn't that a greater form of exploitation?

I think the world would be a lot better place if people (and governments) would just mind their own damn business and stop trying to control everything and everyone around them.