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> And thus it comes down to, "I have chosen for that word to have this particular meaning (and only that meaning), which I find offensive, therefore please don'
by hannasanarion 8y ago
> And thus it comes down to, "I have chosen for that word to have this particular meaning (and only that meaning), which I find offensive, therefore please don't use it anymore.", knowing full well that the speaker meant no offense when they were discussing the new drive layout. I'm not completely unsympathetic, but I sometimes feel the sympathy only goes one way.
No, it's the other way around. Engineers did not invent these terms. More like, ""I have chosen to use a word with a particular nonstandard meaning (and only that meaning), if you find it offensive, it's your fault for not ignoring the rest of the English language like I do."
This excuse didn't work when you used it to justify saying "ass" and "bitch" in elementary school, and it certainly doesn't in the workplace.
- nate_meurer 8y agoBut ass and bitch are not a good comparison to phrases such as master/slave, which have a rich history in programming and convey meaning that would be difficult to replace. Master/slave tells me that an entity controls another entity unconditionally. This is a critical aspect of the relevant relationship, and I know of no other phrase that conveys this meaning nearly so well. Obviously we use the same words to describe a similar relationship between human slaves and masters. There's no rational reason to forbid technically useful and precise language, just because it also describes something else that we don't like.
- mikestew 8y agoThis excuse didn't work when you used it to justify saying "ass" and "bitch" in elementary school Comparing my argument to that of grade school children isn't going to win me over. If that's your understanding of the nuanced differences, perhaps I'll let you have that one and just go on about my day as no minds are going to get changed here.