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Because naming is important. I don't call myself Prime Minister, because I'm not the Prime Minister. I don't call my index iterators `golf_ball` either for the

Because naming is important. I don't call myself Prime Minister, because I'm not the Prime Minister. I don't call my index iterators `golf_ball` either for the same reason.

inopinatus 6y ago
The point being, if you did wish to be called Prime Minister then I'd respect your preference. Who's to say that you're not a Prime Minister? Or perhaps that your family name is actually Minister, and your nickname that everyone's known you by since high school is Prime? Whatever you choose, it's not my business to judge.
- trashburger 6y ago
  What is your opinion on the investigation by the FBI about the person who impersonated an FBI officer on Twitter, then? Should people be allowed to call themselves FBI officers?
  - inopinatus 6y ago
    I have no opinion about US domestic policy and no standing to pronounce one, so I'm unlikely to form one in a hurry just to argue the toss. As for the dumpster fire that is Twitter: the usual advice is, for all Internet denizens is never read the comments, and Twitter is 100% comments. But I digress. The equivalent, in all my own countries of citizenship, origin, or residence, might be that deceiving someone into thinking you are a police officer is already illegal, although simple impersonation may not be e.g. for satirical purposes. Satire aside, in a country that generally trusts its law enforcement personnel, such a deception, particularly in person, may have both high capacity for harm and a high likelihood it occurs for harm's sake. Nevertheless, notwithstanding my total unfamiliarity with the case you refer to, I struggle to see how Twitter is ever anything other than satire. My own Twitter profile reflects this view. Curiously, in Australia, it is illegal to claim an association with Sir Donald Bradman, and for similar reasons of potential harm. Impersonating a Prime Minister is not, since it is a very low occupation and any attempt to do so is self-evidently preposterous.
CodesInChaos 6y ago
And yet President of the United States, and President of Germany are completely different roles.
inopinatus 6y ago
People are not loop variables. You don't get to name them. Their names certainly do matter, but in exactly the opposite fashion. I suppose that a mindset capable of reducing human agency to the status of loop variables, explains some of the frankly tyrannical opinions being expressed in response to my remark.
- callamdelaney 6y ago
  Do you ever comment in a tone that isn't permanently offended?
  - inopinatus 6y ago
    My tone is not offended, Prime Minister. My tone is wearily sardonic tinged with supercilious grandstanding.
    - callamdelaney 6y ago
      How dare you not respect my naming preference, you supercilious tyrannical bigot.

Because naming is important. I don't call myself Prime Minister, because I'm not the Prime Minister. I don't call my index iterators `golf_ball` either for the same reason.

inopinatus 6y ago

The point being, if you did wish to be called Prime Minister then I'd respect your preference. Who's to say that you're not a Prime Minister? Or perhaps that your family name is actually Minister, and your nickname that everyone's known you by since high school is Prime? Whatever you choose, it's not my business to judge.

trashburger 6y ago
What is your opinion on the investigation by the FBI about the person who impersonated an FBI officer on Twitter, then? Should people be allowed to call themselves FBI officers?
- inopinatus 6y ago
  I have no opinion about US domestic policy and no standing to pronounce one, so I'm unlikely to form one in a hurry just to argue the toss. As for the dumpster fire that is Twitter: the usual advice is, for all Internet denizens is never read the comments, and Twitter is 100% comments. But I digress. The equivalent, in all my own countries of citizenship, origin, or residence, might be that deceiving someone into thinking you are a police officer is already illegal, although simple impersonation may not be e.g. for satirical purposes. Satire aside, in a country that generally trusts its law enforcement personnel, such a deception, particularly in person, may have both high capacity for harm and a high likelihood it occurs for harm's sake. Nevertheless, notwithstanding my total unfamiliarity with the case you refer to, I struggle to see how Twitter is ever anything other than satire. My own Twitter profile reflects this view. Curiously, in Australia, it is illegal to claim an association with Sir Donald Bradman, and for similar reasons of potential harm. Impersonating a Prime Minister is not, since it is a very low occupation and any attempt to do so is self-evidently preposterous.

CodesInChaos 6y ago

And yet President of the United States, and President of Germany are completely different roles.

inopinatus 6y ago

People are not loop variables. You don't get to name them. Their names certainly do matter, but in exactly the opposite fashion. I suppose that a mindset capable of reducing human agency to the status of loop variables, explains some of the frankly tyrannical opinions being expressed in response to my remark.

callamdelaney 6y ago
Do you ever comment in a tone that isn't permanently offended?
- inopinatus 6y ago
  My tone is not offended, Prime Minister. My tone is wearily sardonic tinged with supercilious grandstanding.
  - callamdelaney 6y ago
    How dare you not respect my naming preference, you supercilious tyrannical bigot.