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It was a joke, not a real call-out. I was just making the point that as programmers we should be careful about naming things in code, because one day they might

by bArray 6y ago

It was a joke, not a real call-out. I was just making the point that as programmers we should be careful about naming things in code, because one day they might be taken out of context.

happytoexplain 6y ago
I don't understand what you mean when you say "it" was a joke, but also the point you were making was not a joke. What is "it" if not the point being made by the comment?
- bArray 6y ago
  I'll quote my other comment here: > The _joke_ was that it mentions "DARK" as a method of > detecting whether somebody is damaging a vehicle: > > CEO Elon Musk said that it would be used to prevent people > > from vandalizing cars when they are being driven > > automatically on Tesla’s upcoming self-driving robotaxi > > network. > The _joke_ was that if removed from context, somebody could > insinuate that they are measuring whether people are black to > detect if they are likely to damage a vehicle. Jokes can have a half-serious point behind them (for example, political jokes). To really break it down: Joke: Clearly Tesla's inclusion of the parameter "DARK" is not in reference to black persons, but somebody taking an unfavorable view of the article could make it. Point: Programmers should be more aware of what they name things to avoid such cases. You might think "well this is a closed source app and should never be leaked, there's no way the public would be reading this" - and yet some years after MS-DOS and Word were written people are reading all sorts of things [1]. [1] https://www.theverge.com/2014/3/26/5549208/microsoft-early-code-contains-hidden-jokes https://www.theverge.com/2014/3/26/5549208/microsoft-early-c...
  - happytoexplain 6y ago
    I think I see what you're saying - but the replies didn't accuse you of thinking it referenced black people. They disagreed that it is an example of something which is likely enough to be misinterpreted that it should have had a different name.
    - bArray 6y ago
      I thought that the implication of a connection between persons identified as "DARK" and vehicle damage had enough potential to be misinterpreted (either accidentally or maliciously). It was just a throwaway comment that people have taken quite seriously.

by bArray 6y ago

It was a joke, not a real call-out. I was just making the point that as programmers we should be careful about naming things in code, because one day they might be taken out of context.

happytoexplain 6y ago

I don't understand what you mean when you say "it" was a joke, but also the point you were making was not a joke. What is "it" if not the point being made by the comment?

bArray 6y ago
I'll quote my other comment here: > The _joke_ was that it mentions "DARK" as a method of > detecting whether somebody is damaging a vehicle: > > CEO Elon Musk said that it would be used to prevent people > > from vandalizing cars when they are being driven > > automatically on Tesla’s upcoming self-driving robotaxi > > network. > The _joke_ was that if removed from context, somebody could > insinuate that they are measuring whether people are black to > detect if they are likely to damage a vehicle. Jokes can have a half-serious point behind them (for example, political jokes). To really break it down: Joke: Clearly Tesla's inclusion of the parameter "DARK" is not in reference to black persons, but somebody taking an unfavorable view of the article could make it. Point: Programmers should be more aware of what they name things to avoid such cases. You might think "well this is a closed source app and should never be leaked, there's no way the public would be reading this" - and yet some years after MS-DOS and Word were written people are reading all sorts of things [1]. [1] https://www.theverge.com/2014/3/26/5549208/microsoft-early-code-contains-hidden-jokes https://www.theverge.com/2014/3/26/5549208/microsoft-early-c...
- happytoexplain 6y ago
  I think I see what you're saying - but the replies didn't accuse you of thinking it referenced black people. They disagreed that it is an example of something which is likely enough to be misinterpreted that it should have had a different name.
  - bArray 6y ago
    I thought that the implication of a connection between persons identified as "DARK" and vehicle damage had enough potential to be misinterpreted (either accidentally or maliciously). It was just a throwaway comment that people have taken quite seriously.