Agreed. The tech community is rabidly hypercritical and even those considered part of the "typical" programmer demographic are often met with biting vitriol when publishing code or projects that the community views as bad, poor form, too ambitious or reinventing the wheel. That type of hostility will really intimidate novices, especially if they already feel like an outsider. I think it's a positive step to encourage the less represented demographics because it says "we see you, and there is a place for you, even if you're just taking baby steps"