3 ms·

I think the sexual interpretation is pretty strong (at least today) - "groping" and "groper" have slightly different vibes - that warrants removal today imo. Bu

I think the sexual interpretation is pretty strong (at least today) - "groping" and "groper" have slightly different vibes - that warrants removal today imo. But yeah, I'm not sure if that was the case in the 80s. --- Edit: as pointed out below I hadn't noticed when I wrote this that the offending mastodon replies were apparently deleted so the 3 replies I mention here aren't actually relevant --- I did click through to the Mastodon link from the OP and had a look at the "dudes in the replies demanding that i prove [...]" - the replies were largely supportive, apart from 2 "dudes" saying they hadn't considered the sexual-assault meaning before now & weren't sure if that was intended BUT still strongly agreeing that it should be removed, and 1 other dude (possibly non-native English speaker?) surprised that such a sexual-assault-related interpretation existed and asking for further context (not "demanding proof"). That's all followed by a lot of extremely confrontational replies from the OP assuming bad faith in every case. Julia is a fantastic tech writer, & I'm sure I'll continue to read her blog regularly, but... this isn't a great look. Asking for the manpage to be changed is perfectly reasonable but the ad hominem really wasn't needed here.

metadat 3y ago
Kinda harsh that Julia chose to block people for what boiled down to asking genuine questions without intent to offend. Shrug, it's her choice and a valid move. But by employing the approach of "block-o-matic for all dissenters" strategy, the author has lost some credibility with me. I also found it odd that the author cherry-picked a dictionary site which only contained the definition she found offensive. If you put "define: grope" into Google, the non-offensive definition is the first one listed: Grope (verb) 1. to feel about or search blindly or uncertainly with the hands. Which was why I latched onto this aspect in the first place - sexual groping has always been the minor definition in American English for at least the past 30 years. It's at least somewhat disingenuous to completely ignore this fact and focus only on the maximally offensive possibility. https://www.google.com/search?q=define+grope https://www.google.com/search?q=define+grope
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
- lucideer 3y ago
  Blocking people for "just asking questions" is fine - such questions are more often than not wolf-whistles, especially in conversations involving sexual abuse. But I did find her language in the replies odd - the level of bad faith assumed seemed inexplicable.
- wild_egg 3y ago
  > in American English fwiw, the author doesn't appear to be American and it's entirely possible that your minor definition is their major one
0cf8612b2e1e 3y ago
Said the posts were deleted. >A few dudes in the replies (who I think by now have all deleted their posts) asked me to prove that the original author intended it to be offensive…
- lucideer 3y ago
  ah, well spotted. I'll edit.

metadat 3y ago

Kinda harsh that Julia chose to block people for what boiled down to asking genuine questions without intent to offend. Shrug, it's her choice and a valid move. But by employing the approach of "block-o-matic for all dissenters" strategy, the author has lost some credibility with me. I also found it odd that the author cherry-picked a dictionary site which only contained the definition she found offensive. If you put "define: grope" into Google, the non-offensive definition is the first one listed: Grope (verb) 1. to feel about or search blindly or uncertainly with the hands. Which was why I latched onto this aspect in the first place - sexual groping has always been the minor definition in American English for at least the past 30 years. It's at least somewhat disingenuous to completely ignore this fact and focus only on the maximally offensive possibility. https://www.google.com/search?q=define+grope https://www.google.com/search?q=define+grope

deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
lucideer 3y ago
Blocking people for "just asking questions" is fine - such questions are more often than not wolf-whistles, especially in conversations involving sexual abuse. But I did find her language in the replies odd - the level of bad faith assumed seemed inexplicable.
wild_egg 3y ago
> in American English fwiw, the author doesn't appear to be American and it's entirely possible that your minor definition is their major one

0cf8612b2e1e 3y ago

Said the posts were deleted. >A few dudes in the replies (who I think by now have all deleted their posts) asked me to prove that the original author intended it to be offensive…

lucideer 3y ago
ah, well spotted. I'll edit.