4 ms·

Linux team approves new terminology, bans terms like 'blacklist' and 'slave'

17 points by 1cvmask 6y ago

Proven 6y ago
Some of the suggested PC terms like leader/follower stil promote stereotypes, both gender- and ability-related. If those busybodies keep perfecting their contributions to Open Source computing, they could become leading contributors to Linux (in terms of commits, at least)
Normille 6y ago
At long last. It's finally 'The Year of Virtue Signalling on the Desktop'!
- valenciarose 6y ago
  Please. Even if you don't believe that the terminology has a role in perpetuating stereotypes, it does make people feel uncomfortable and unwelcome.
  - ta17711771 6y ago
    I have 0 white people on my team, or any teams I've been on. Why is this the first time I'm hearing about this problem?
    - valenciarose 6y ago
      How many Black engineers have you worked with? A lot of this terminology is specifically rather than generally problematic.
  - Normille 6y ago
    >>..it does make people feel uncomfortable and unwelcome.. Does it really? Have they told you that, or are you feeling offended on their behalf? I'm from an Irish / Scottish background. Maybe I should start crying and wailing, next time someone in the office says, at lunchtime, that they're "starving" - --because it reminds me of the Irish Famine. It might even be cultural appropriation to claim to be "starving" if you're not from a part of the world which has suffered famine. And if I walk past any shops holding a "Clearance Sale", I'll most likely pass out from the sheer horror of being reminded what my ancestors went through, during the Highland Clearances.
    - valenciarose 6y ago
      I am not personally offended by this terminology. Yes, I have been told that more than once. Usually in requests to address the issue as quietly as possible. It’s always been in the context of new development rather than a request to retrofit older systems), but I don’t know if that’s self-censoring or indifference. We aren’t talking about cultural appropriation, so why bring it up? This is about an under-represented group (in tech) subject to current-day prejudice. That’s not irrelevant to how the language is received. Half my ancestors (English) brutally oppressed the other half (Irish and Scottish). None of that oppression is part of my current day experience. But this isn’t true for Black Americans.
- type0 6y ago
  The kernel isn't the Desktop
subjectsigma 6y ago
And moderate people supporting the CoC 'promised' it wouldn't be a takeover and that slippery-slope style arguments were fear mongering. Months later Linus is muzzled and the teams are starting to have more and more restrictions based on this microaggression bullshit. Can't wait until they decide the team is 'too white' and they decide to enforce quotas on people based on protected classes. I previously was unsure that I was cut out for open source but now I'm nearly certain they wouldn't want me.
- type0 6y ago
  > Can't wait until they decide the team is 'too white' >now I'm nearly certain they wouldn't want me. No need to be afraid, there's medication called melanotan II, it can alter your skin pigmentation to appropriate levels.

17 points by 1cvmask 6y ago

Some of the suggested PC terms like leader/follower stil promote stereotypes, both gender- and ability-related. If those busybodies keep perfecting their contributions to Open Source computing, they could become leading contributors to Linux (in terms of commits, at least)

Normille 6y ago

At long last. It's finally 'The Year of Virtue Signalling on the Desktop'!

valenciarose 6y ago
Please. Even if you don't believe that the terminology has a role in perpetuating stereotypes, it does make people feel uncomfortable and unwelcome.
- ta17711771 6y ago
  I have 0 white people on my team, or any teams I've been on. Why is this the first time I'm hearing about this problem?
  - valenciarose 6y ago
    How many Black engineers have you worked with? A lot of this terminology is specifically rather than generally problematic.
- Normille 6y ago
  >>..it does make people feel uncomfortable and unwelcome.. Does it really? Have they told you that, or are you feeling offended on their behalf? I'm from an Irish / Scottish background. Maybe I should start crying and wailing, next time someone in the office says, at lunchtime, that they're "starving" - --because it reminds me of the Irish Famine. It might even be cultural appropriation to claim to be "starving" if you're not from a part of the world which has suffered famine. And if I walk past any shops holding a "Clearance Sale", I'll most likely pass out from the sheer horror of being reminded what my ancestors went through, during the Highland Clearances.
  - valenciarose 6y ago
    I am not personally offended by this terminology. Yes, I have been told that more than once. Usually in requests to address the issue as quietly as possible. It’s always been in the context of new development rather than a request to retrofit older systems), but I don’t know if that’s self-censoring or indifference. We aren’t talking about cultural appropriation, so why bring it up? This is about an under-represented group (in tech) subject to current-day prejudice. That’s not irrelevant to how the language is received. Half my ancestors (English) brutally oppressed the other half (Irish and Scottish). None of that oppression is part of my current day experience. But this isn’t true for Black Americans.
type0 6y ago
The kernel isn't the Desktop

subjectsigma 6y ago

And moderate people supporting the CoC 'promised' it wouldn't be a takeover and that slippery-slope style arguments were fear mongering. Months later Linus is muzzled and the teams are starting to have more and more restrictions based on this microaggression bullshit. Can't wait until they decide the team is 'too white' and they decide to enforce quotas on people based on protected classes. I previously was unsure that I was cut out for open source but now I'm nearly certain they wouldn't want me.

type0 6y ago
> Can't wait until they decide the team is 'too white' >now I'm nearly certain they wouldn't want me. No need to be afraid, there's medication called melanotan II, it can alter your skin pigmentation to appropriate levels.