4 ms·
What's the thing about adding "-gate" to everything?
by tester756 6y ago
What's the thing about adding "-gate" to everything?
- krapp 6y agoit's been a common way to refer to a scandal since Watergate[0]. Don't know if that's actually the case here though. [0]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watergate_scandal https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watergate_scandal
- tester756 6y agobut why? why cannot it just be "solarwinds hack"
- mhh__ 6y agoIf it fits, I prefer gate, but in this case the suffix is quite jarring so I agree
- loufe 6y agoIt's a tad conspiratorial, but I suspect there was a concerted effort by media to muddy down the impacts of future watergate-level scandals by highlighting a lot of minor "gates". Already I feel tempted to roll my eyes each time I see another HN post about X-gate, seeing many "weaker" stories using the same nomenclature certainly steals power away from the stories that hit hard.
- jjk166 6y agoI wouldn't refer to getting hacked as a scandal. Unless it comes out that there was some sort of coverup, it seems innapropriate to refer to it as a -gate.
- WarOnPrivacy 6y ago(not an answer but) It's less annoying than needlessly adding "Cyber" to criminal activity.