5 ms·

Why can't they just say "exploded" ?

by wiz21c 3y ago

mlindner 3y ago
Well technically it's not an explosion.
dotnet00 3y ago
Exploded is a loaded term that has been ruined by media to make it so that people interpret even development testing as a failure. RUD conveys the same idea of the vehicle losing structural integrity, serves as a bit of tongue-in-cheek humor for those who understand it, and limits the number of idiots screaming "look this project is obviously a scam" slightly.
- mrsilencedogood 3y ago
  Same energy as sqlite using etilqs as their file extension for no reason other than to mildly amuse onlookers who "know" and to deter the uninitiated from sending them unearned complaints.
  - doctoboggan 3y ago
    Actually there is a reason for that, as described in this source code comment[0] ** 2006-10-31: The default prefix used to be "sqlite_". But then ** Mcafee started using SQLite in their anti-virus product and it ** started putting files with the "sqlite" name in the c:/temp folder. ** This annoyed many windows users. Those users would then do a ** Google search for "sqlite", find the telephone numbers of the ** developers and call to wake them up at night and complain. ** For this reason, the default name prefix is changed to be "sqlite" ** spelled backwards. So the temp files are still identified, but ** anybody smart enough to figure out the code is also likely smart ** enough to know that calling the developer will not help get rid ** of the file. [0]: https://github.com/mackyle/sqlite/blob/18cf47156abe94255ae1495ba2da84517dce6081/src/os.h#L56-L75 https://github.com/mackyle/sqlite/blob/18cf47156abe94255ae14...
- PH95VuimJjqBqy 3y ago
  in 10 years RUD will mean exploded, that's how language works. retarded used to be a medical term to replace loaded terms such as imbecile. You can see how successful that was. It turns out, dressing up an idea does absolutely nothing since it's the idea that has the negative connotation. And why shouldn't "exploded" be viewed in a negative light?
  - djmips 3y ago
    Downvotes for language?
  - dotnet00 3y ago
    The difference is between viewing exploded as simply something going wrong and viewing it as an indication of general failure. A starship prototype exploding in a flight right now is completely different from a Falcon 9 exploding in a flight. With the former it's almost desirable by making points of improvement obvious, with the latter it's a potential capacity crisis for the US launch industry. Yet that's not really how most journalists will report it, and also isn't how most people who don't actively keep up with developments will interpret it. Also, as you say, retarded replaced imbecile, and since then retarded has also been replaced, same will happen with RUD. Not really a big deal since they'll just change their language usage too.
  - ihumanable 3y ago
    This process is called pejoration (sometimes pejorativization). It is a fascinating linguistic phenomenon, but it makes sense if you think about it. People start using technical terms as a pejorative, so those technical terms over time become less professional, so professions introduce new terms, and the cycle continues. Another fascinating thing is that pejoration can be cyclic, sometimes enough terms are introduced to replace a term that eventually the original pejorative term becomes innocuous or even becomes endearing. "Dickens" went through a pejoration cycle when it was used to replace the word "devil." There was a time when saying "what the Dickens" would be quite rude, but now would be seen as old fashioned to the point of being charming in some circles.
- 7952 3y ago
  Also, rockets can fail without exploding. The tanks can just spill the fuel.
tekla 3y ago
Explode actually has a definition.
justrealist 3y ago
RUD very often means an anomaly triggered a self-destruct. Saying it "exploded" implies the explosion was not automatically triggered.
- cubefox 3y ago
  I don't think RUD suggests self-destruction. It even suggests the opposite, because having a self-destruction system involved means the explosion wasn't entirely "unscheduled". Indeed, SpaceX describes the lower stage explosion, which wasn't caused by the flight termination system, as a "RUD", but not the upper stage explosion, which was caused by the flight termination system.
  - margalabargala 3y ago
    I agree with you. The self-destruction system triggers a RSD.
BurningFrog 3y ago
Sometimes the thing just breaks into pieces.
lupusreal 3y ago
Sometimes euphemisms are fun.
JumpCrisscross 3y ago
> Why can't they just say "exploded" ? The rocket exploded because it was instructed to explode. In fact, one of the problems was that it didn’t explode on time: the flight-termination system did not destroy the vehicle immediately. Many rocket failures, especially those are high altitude, do not explode in a classical sense. The correct term would be that they failed; RUD seems more fun.

Why can't they just say "exploded" ?

by wiz21c 3y ago

Why can't they just say "exploded" ?

mlindner 3y ago

Well technically it's not an explosion.

dotnet00 3y ago

Exploded is a loaded term that has been ruined by media to make it so that people interpret even development testing as a failure. RUD conveys the same idea of the vehicle losing structural integrity, serves as a bit of tongue-in-cheek humor for those who understand it, and limits the number of idiots screaming "look this project is obviously a scam" slightly.

mrsilencedogood 3y ago
Same energy as sqlite using etilqs as their file extension for no reason other than to mildly amuse onlookers who "know" and to deter the uninitiated from sending them unearned complaints.
- doctoboggan 3y ago
  Actually there is a reason for that, as described in this source code comment[0] ** 2006-10-31: The default prefix used to be "sqlite_". But then ** Mcafee started using SQLite in their anti-virus product and it ** started putting files with the "sqlite" name in the c:/temp folder. ** This annoyed many windows users. Those users would then do a ** Google search for "sqlite", find the telephone numbers of the ** developers and call to wake them up at night and complain. ** For this reason, the default name prefix is changed to be "sqlite" ** spelled backwards. So the temp files are still identified, but ** anybody smart enough to figure out the code is also likely smart ** enough to know that calling the developer will not help get rid ** of the file. [0]: https://github.com/mackyle/sqlite/blob/18cf47156abe94255ae1495ba2da84517dce6081/src/os.h#L56-L75 https://github.com/mackyle/sqlite/blob/18cf47156abe94255ae14...
PH95VuimJjqBqy 3y ago
in 10 years RUD will mean exploded, that's how language works. retarded used to be a medical term to replace loaded terms such as imbecile. You can see how successful that was. It turns out, dressing up an idea does absolutely nothing since it's the idea that has the negative connotation. And why shouldn't "exploded" be viewed in a negative light?
- djmips 3y ago
  Downvotes for language?
- dotnet00 3y ago
  The difference is between viewing exploded as simply something going wrong and viewing it as an indication of general failure. A starship prototype exploding in a flight right now is completely different from a Falcon 9 exploding in a flight. With the former it's almost desirable by making points of improvement obvious, with the latter it's a potential capacity crisis for the US launch industry. Yet that's not really how most journalists will report it, and also isn't how most people who don't actively keep up with developments will interpret it. Also, as you say, retarded replaced imbecile, and since then retarded has also been replaced, same will happen with RUD. Not really a big deal since they'll just change their language usage too.
- ihumanable 3y ago
  This process is called pejoration (sometimes pejorativization). It is a fascinating linguistic phenomenon, but it makes sense if you think about it. People start using technical terms as a pejorative, so those technical terms over time become less professional, so professions introduce new terms, and the cycle continues. Another fascinating thing is that pejoration can be cyclic, sometimes enough terms are introduced to replace a term that eventually the original pejorative term becomes innocuous or even becomes endearing. "Dickens" went through a pejoration cycle when it was used to replace the word "devil." There was a time when saying "what the Dickens" would be quite rude, but now would be seen as old fashioned to the point of being charming in some circles.
7952 3y ago
Also, rockets can fail without exploding. The tanks can just spill the fuel.

tekla 3y ago

Explode actually has a definition.

justrealist 3y ago

RUD very often means an anomaly triggered a self-destruct. Saying it "exploded" implies the explosion was not automatically triggered.

cubefox 3y ago
I don't think RUD suggests self-destruction. It even suggests the opposite, because having a self-destruction system involved means the explosion wasn't entirely "unscheduled". Indeed, SpaceX describes the lower stage explosion, which wasn't caused by the flight termination system, as a "RUD", but not the upper stage explosion, which was caused by the flight termination system.
- margalabargala 3y ago
  I agree with you. The self-destruction system triggers a RSD.

BurningFrog 3y ago

Sometimes the thing just breaks into pieces.

lupusreal 3y ago

Sometimes euphemisms are fun.

JumpCrisscross 3y ago

> Why can't they just say "exploded" ? The rocket exploded because it was instructed to explode. In fact, one of the problems was that it didn’t explode on time: the flight-termination system did not destroy the vehicle immediately. Many rocket failures, especially those are high altitude, do not explode in a classical sense. The correct term would be that they failed; RUD seems more fun.