4 ms·

UW issues list of banned words including “minority”,”grandfather”

13 points by pinewurst 5y ago

new_guy 5y ago
> “Don't you see that the whole aim of Newspeak is to narrow the range of thought? In the end we shall make thoughtcrime literally impossible, because there will be no words in which to express it.” Although this is more idiocracy than 1984.
version_five 5y ago
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30032072 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30032072 A very similar discussion from two days ago about google producing a similar list
inglor_cz 5y ago
Employees within the University of Washington information technology department are also encouraged to contact vendors who use the “problematic words and phrases” and ask them to avoid terms that come from “racist, ableist and/or sexist origins.” The web page gives a sample prompt for employees to use when sending emails to vendors about this issue as well. “Unfortunately, in working with your product/service we have identified language that can be considered offensive due to its racist, ableist and/or sexist origins,” the email prompt states. “Can you let us know what efforts you are undertaking to move away from this language so as to create a more inclusive product/service?” So, what will be the inclusive name for a "grandfather clock"?
- jrockway 5y ago
  "weight-driven pendulum clock" If you're quick you can probably trademark that while nobody's looking.
  - inglor_cz 5y ago
    Weight could insult fat people and clock is somehow colonial (see a neighboring discssion [0]). It would have to be something like ticking-at-any-size wooden box for measuring unimportant things. [0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30045114 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30045114
newsbinator 5y ago
> According to the language guide, using “red,” white,” or “yellow” to separate different teams is based on “racist tropes.” I assume at some point this will all get absurd enough that the pendulum will swing back toward getting work done.
- bigodbiel 5y ago
  You think this isn’t “getting work done”? ESG coming mainstream has created a whole new job market for compliance bureaucrats. <rant>Finally those useless liberal art college debt will be paid back</rant>
josephcsible 5y ago
A few more choice banned words: "first-class function", "native speaker", "red team", "dumb terminal", "dummy value", "sanity check", "see", "freshman", and "housekeeping".

13 points by pinewurst 5y ago

> “Don't you see that the whole aim of Newspeak is to narrow the range of thought? In the end we shall make thoughtcrime literally impossible, because there will be no words in which to express it.” Although this is more idiocracy than 1984.

version_five 5y ago

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30032072 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30032072 A very similar discussion from two days ago about google producing a similar list

inglor_cz 5y ago

Employees within the University of Washington information technology department are also encouraged to contact vendors who use the “problematic words and phrases” and ask them to avoid terms that come from “racist, ableist and/or sexist origins.” The web page gives a sample prompt for employees to use when sending emails to vendors about this issue as well. “Unfortunately, in working with your product/service we have identified language that can be considered offensive due to its racist, ableist and/or sexist origins,” the email prompt states. “Can you let us know what efforts you are undertaking to move away from this language so as to create a more inclusive product/service?” So, what will be the inclusive name for a "grandfather clock"?

jrockway 5y ago
"weight-driven pendulum clock" If you're quick you can probably trademark that while nobody's looking.
- inglor_cz 5y ago
  Weight could insult fat people and clock is somehow colonial (see a neighboring discssion [0]). It would have to be something like ticking-at-any-size wooden box for measuring unimportant things. [0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30045114 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30045114

newsbinator 5y ago

> According to the language guide, using “red,” white,” or “yellow” to separate different teams is based on “racist tropes.” I assume at some point this will all get absurd enough that the pendulum will swing back toward getting work done.

bigodbiel 5y ago
You think this isn’t “getting work done”? ESG coming mainstream has created a whole new job market for compliance bureaucrats. <rant>Finally those useless liberal art college debt will be paid back</rant>

josephcsible 5y ago

A few more choice banned words: "first-class function", "native speaker", "red team", "dumb terminal", "dummy value", "sanity check", "see", "freshman", and "housekeeping".