7 ms·

Replace suicide as a verb – Issue #3721 – Node.js/node

31 points by olalonde 11y ago

mosdave 11y ago
I suffer from pathological Ailurophobia and UNIX triggers panic attacks. Please fix this to ensure my comfort.
- JadeNB 11y ago
  What does UNIX have to do with cats (or do you mean the `cat` utility)? Anyway, while it's easy to snark at this, that doesn't seem particularly worthwhile. As, for example, https://github.com/nodejs/node/issues/3721#issuecomment-155227232 https://github.com/nodejs/node/issues/3721#issuecomment-1552... shows, it's perfectly possible to disapprove of this idea and to explain why civilly.
  - Zooper 11y ago
    Semantics: snark provides no value, where satire illuminates it. The above is satire.
EdwardCoffin 11y ago
Do other fields, such as biology, have problems like this? Do people in biology every beat around the bush rather than say things like "programmed cell death"?
- stefantalpalaru 11y ago
  People with Peter Pan syndrome don't usually end up working in grown-up fields.
Nadya 11y ago
Do people realize that euphemisms do not change the meaning of something? `voluntaryExit`? What do they think suicide actually is? Oh well, at least it provides relevant context to shoehorn Carlin in. [0] [1] It amazes me so many people are willing to receive their sticks from the stick people. [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuEQixrBKCc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuEQixrBKCc [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXWBvB4U-cA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXWBvB4U-cA
- malandrew 11y ago
  It reminds me of the way certain clinical terms entered the vernacular like idiot, retard and moron. IIRC, all were clinical terms before they became insults. I could see "voluntarily exited" being used to describe a suicide.
stefantalpalaru 11y ago
> Sadly, the whole unix process model is overridden with terminology related to violence and slavery... :disappointed: > Don't forget the sexual overtones: mount, touch, finger... These people are actually serious, aren't they?
- JadeNB 11y ago
  I'm pretty sure that second one is a joke.
  - malandrew 11y ago
    Given that it's from the same user that started the discussion, I'm almost certain that it's not a joke. I look at this and I think "Infantilize all the things!"
new_corp_dev 11y ago
> I think that this verb is particularly meaningful in that a member of our community killed himself not that long ago and those of us that were close to him would rather not be reminded of it every time we use this API. Everybody deals with tragedies, they're a part of life. Being an adult means facing those tragedies and accepting them. It's not easy, and some tragedies are just too much for someone to fully accept and move on from, but there should never be any reasonable expectation that the world should change to accommodate them.
malandrew 11y ago
"Furthermore, I'd like to +1 the idea of sanctioning individuals who feel the need to contribute disruptive/harmful comments to this thread." I'm all in favor for squelching users that are intentionally disruptive/harmful, but the users at whom that comment was directed did not do anything worth being sanctioned. Honestly, the NodeJS community has completely jumped the shark. This reminds me of this SMBC cartoon about the difference between "offended" and "offensive". http://www.smbc-comics.com/index.php?db=comics&id=2164 http://www.smbc-comics.com/index.php?db=comics&id=2164 Some of the examples don't even make sense: - mount is not an exclusively sexual term. For example, "a jockey mounts a horse" - the origin of the finger protocol comes from the idea of "snitching" on someone and has absolutely nothing to do with sex. - the touch command updates mtime (or creates a file if it doesn't exist) and its origin is from "touching something last" The most ironic thing in all this is that the causes are being championed by people who are very clearly neurotypical and completely ignorant to the cognitive diversity that has pretty much always existed in the field of computing that includes individuals who either don't feel offense or are oblivious to what might offend. Honestly, the NodeJS is becoming a less safe space for people on the aspie/autistic end of spectrum, lest they be attacked by a mob of people who wants to sanction them for word choices that they are insensitive to (i.e. completely unaware). https://medium.com/@maradydd/when-nerds-collide-31895b01e68c https://medium.com/@maradydd/when-nerds-collide-31895b01e68c
- malandrew 11y ago
  I think Linus' "acting professional" rant is pertinent here: https://marc.info/?l=linux-kernel&m=137392506516022&w=2 https://marc.info/?l=linux-kernel&m=137392506516022&w=2 In particular, this point, 'So as far as I'm concerned, the discussion is about "how to work together DESPITE people being different".'
jwalton 11y ago
I'm in favor of changing it. Both for the sentiment involved, and because the title says it all: "Replace suicide as a verb". You shouldn't name boolean state variables after verbs. Verbs are for methods and functions. Not really sure that `voluntaryExit` is better, though.

31 points by olalonde 11y ago

mosdave 11y ago

I suffer from pathological Ailurophobia and UNIX triggers panic attacks. Please fix this to ensure my comfort.

JadeNB 11y ago
What does UNIX have to do with cats (or do you mean the `cat` utility)? Anyway, while it's easy to snark at this, that doesn't seem particularly worthwhile. As, for example, https://github.com/nodejs/node/issues/3721#issuecomment-155227232 https://github.com/nodejs/node/issues/3721#issuecomment-1552... shows, it's perfectly possible to disapprove of this idea and to explain why civilly.
- Zooper 11y ago
  Semantics: snark provides no value, where satire illuminates it. The above is satire.

EdwardCoffin 11y ago

Do other fields, such as biology, have problems like this? Do people in biology every beat around the bush rather than say things like "programmed cell death"?

stefantalpalaru 11y ago
People with Peter Pan syndrome don't usually end up working in grown-up fields.

Nadya 11y ago

Do people realize that euphemisms do not change the meaning of something? `voluntaryExit`? What do they think suicide actually is? Oh well, at least it provides relevant context to shoehorn Carlin in. [0] [1] It amazes me so many people are willing to receive their sticks from the stick people. [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuEQixrBKCc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuEQixrBKCc [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXWBvB4U-cA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXWBvB4U-cA

malandrew 11y ago
It reminds me of the way certain clinical terms entered the vernacular like idiot, retard and moron. IIRC, all were clinical terms before they became insults. I could see "voluntarily exited" being used to describe a suicide.

stefantalpalaru 11y ago

> Sadly, the whole unix process model is overridden with terminology related to violence and slavery... :disappointed: > Don't forget the sexual overtones: mount, touch, finger... These people are actually serious, aren't they?

JadeNB 11y ago
I'm pretty sure that second one is a joke.
- malandrew 11y ago
  Given that it's from the same user that started the discussion, I'm almost certain that it's not a joke. I look at this and I think "Infantilize all the things!"

new_corp_dev 11y ago

> I think that this verb is particularly meaningful in that a member of our community killed himself not that long ago and those of us that were close to him would rather not be reminded of it every time we use this API. Everybody deals with tragedies, they're a part of life. Being an adult means facing those tragedies and accepting them. It's not easy, and some tragedies are just too much for someone to fully accept and move on from, but there should never be any reasonable expectation that the world should change to accommodate them.

malandrew 11y ago

"Furthermore, I'd like to +1 the idea of sanctioning individuals who feel the need to contribute disruptive/harmful comments to this thread." I'm all in favor for squelching users that are intentionally disruptive/harmful, but the users at whom that comment was directed did not do anything worth being sanctioned. Honestly, the NodeJS community has completely jumped the shark. This reminds me of this SMBC cartoon about the difference between "offended" and "offensive". http://www.smbc-comics.com/index.php?db=comics&id=2164 http://www.smbc-comics.com/index.php?db=comics&id=2164 Some of the examples don't even make sense: - mount is not an exclusively sexual term. For example, "a jockey mounts a horse" - the origin of the finger protocol comes from the idea of "snitching" on someone and has absolutely nothing to do with sex. - the touch command updates mtime (or creates a file if it doesn't exist) and its origin is from "touching something last" The most ironic thing in all this is that the causes are being championed by people who are very clearly neurotypical and completely ignorant to the cognitive diversity that has pretty much always existed in the field of computing that includes individuals who either don't feel offense or are oblivious to what might offend. Honestly, the NodeJS is becoming a less safe space for people on the aspie/autistic end of spectrum, lest they be attacked by a mob of people who wants to sanction them for word choices that they are insensitive to (i.e. completely unaware). https://medium.com/@maradydd/when-nerds-collide-31895b01e68c https://medium.com/@maradydd/when-nerds-collide-31895b01e68c

malandrew 11y ago
I think Linus' "acting professional" rant is pertinent here: https://marc.info/?l=linux-kernel&m=137392506516022&w=2 https://marc.info/?l=linux-kernel&m=137392506516022&w=2 In particular, this point, 'So as far as I'm concerned, the discussion is about "how to work together DESPITE people being different".'

jwalton 11y ago

I'm in favor of changing it. Both for the sentiment involved, and because the title says it all: "Replace suicide as a verb". You shouldn't name boolean state variables after verbs. Verbs are for methods and functions. Not really sure that `voluntaryExit` is better, though.