5 ms·
It's the same in US English. The issue is just that there are 1-10% of people who are sensitive to the issue, and computing has grown from a small club of close
by lurker17 15y ago
It's the same in US English. The issue is just that there are 1-10% of people who are sensitive to the issue, and computing has grown from a small club of close friends/enemies/frenemies to a more mainstream activity, there is a growing call for being more welcoming and "politicallyy correct" tone in conversation.
For example, on the official Mozilla Bugzilla, diverting from technical debate to non-technical vitriolic commentary is a bannable offense, regardless of the value of the user's technical contribution.
It's just a toxic way of communicating, and if someone can't package their thoughts for public consumption, it may be better to keep their thoughts (semi-)private and leave it to someone more tactful to spread the word more widely and effect positive change.
- javert 15y agoI think this is quite different from "political correctness" as the term is typically used, which is regarding issues of gender, ethnicity, political opinion, etc. It's the same in US English I don't agree. I've never thought of it before, but to be honest, in my 25 years of life, I've never seen the kind of behavior Linus is famous for on the part of anyone besides Europeans. (Most of whom, I should add, do not appear to be this way.)
- LinaLauneBaer 15y agoIn the professional gaming scene when you beat someone in a match you also say "I raped him hard" and nobody thinks of it as a real rape.
- bkirwi 15y agoI'm aware of several people that have been driven away from gaming by this kind of culture. It's not as harmless as it seems from the inside, I think.
- LinaLauneBaer 15y agoIf you say it in-game at an official tournament you may be punished for that. But casters say this from time to time without feeling bad.
- jlawer 15y agoThat dark and exaggerated sense of humour is common at least amongst Brits, Irish, Aussies & Kiwis. However I wouldn't say it isn't in the US. Most Boston & some New York stand-up comedians I have seen seem to have a similar personality. Maybe this is self selecting, but the US comedians I have seen from these areas tend to have that same personality. I really don't think this is a big deal..
- javert 15y agoI'm not talking about comedians, for pete sake. I'm talking about software development in a professional context.
- icebraining 15y agoSo why are you talking about professional context on a story about a post in a personal profile on a social network?
- beedogs 15y agoApparently people in the public eye are not allowed to have personal opinions.
- batista 15y agoI don't agree. I've never thought of it before, but to be honest, in my 25 years of life, I've never seen the kind of behavior Linus is famous for on the part of anyone besides Europeans. Really? Does Lenny Bruce qualify? How about Dennis Leary? (Well, he is of Irish descent, I'll give you that). Hani Suleiman, of the Bile Blog fame? http://javablogs.com/views/ViewBlog.action?id=11454 http://javablogs.com/views/ViewBlog.action?id=11454 Definitely not a European. How about The Filty Critic? http://www.bigempire.com/filthy/ http://www.bigempire.com/filthy/ And don't get me started on Hunter S. Thompson and co. [EDIT] Fk, how could I forget Maddox and the "Best Page in the Universe": http://maddox.xmission.com/ http://maddox.xmission.com/
- javert 15y agoNot familiar with those people except Thompson.
- batista 15y agoWell, the Filthy Critic is quite known on the interwebs. And BileBlog was quite read back in the day by Java devs. But, ok, those are minor websites. But, you must have heard of Lenny Bruce (they even made him into a movie starring Dustin Hoffman) and Denis Leary. Comedian, had starred in a few movies, and had a tv series that made it into 7 seasons...
- javert 15y agoI think you're talking about a totally different context than I am.
- batista 15y agoNot sure. You wrote "I've never seen the kind of behavior Linus is famous for on the part of anyone besides Europeans.", which in the context of the threads, means things like him saying "kill yourself". Well, those guys, all non Europeans and most Americans, are some random and well known examples of similar --if not identical-- harsh talk as joke/commentary.
- AndresNavarro 15y agoI don't think it's the same in US English, I think the parent is right. Here in Buenos Aires one can say "kill yourself" (which would be "matate" in the rioplatense dialect of Spanish) for almost anything and nobody would bat an eye. In English, it sounds/looks pretty harsh, at least to my non native ears/eyes.
- pavanky 15y agoThat is his personal Google+ profile. I am not sure if he would ask people to kill themselves (even if he is harsh) in a mailing list or other open forums..
- weff 15y agoI guess you could also reverse the idea: if someone is offended by every cultural difference, maybe one should refrain from... living in a multi-cultural world? What is "public consumption" anyway? I don't want to have everyone communicating through death threats but I also want even less for everyone to sound like a PR representative. Maybe the solution is to simply understand the cultural differences?