Tom, you and I are of a similar age and demographic, based on your profile pic. This is intended as a respectful and friendly heads-up. Sort of a “hey, dude, I get that you’re trying to help, but I think you missed a couple of things…”

• “30 years ago” — not now. Have you been paying attention to how much the world has changed in 30 years in, well, every way?
• “I love my job” — she spent a lot of time eloquently writing about how her job, both in terms of working conditions and purpose, was unsatisfactory.
• “I would have…” — I’m assuming that your profile picture is accurate in this assessment. You and I are white males used to having our requests and opinions taken seriously by bureaucracies such as HR. The author (who does a great job of acknowledging her own privilege) was a very small cog in a very big publishing machine that was demonstrably hostile to people like her.

It’s not just your condescension that I find problematic. It’s that you are a technical person who is proposing a solution that worked in one situation to solve a problem with entirely different parameters.

I found your comment interesting because it highlights just how much the world has changed, and how the strategies that worked in the past (which you’re right, were great for you) are no longer available to the workers today.

Also, just a tip, one man to another: “lean in” has both proven to be problematic in the same sense of blind privilege that your comment had, and also is never something that a man can suggest to a woman, as it carries with it a solidarity that you and I don’t share with her.

All the same — you took the time to try and help her out, which speaks well to your character. You also work in a field that I respect immensely, and is based on the scientific process of adjusting according to current data. I hope that continues to be reflected in your writing as much as your work.