Cisco: Don't use 'blind spot' – and do use 'feed two birds with one scone'
- Reference: 1683699549
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2023/05/10/cisco_inclusive_language/
- Source link:
Instead, refer to a Cisco [1]blog post from last week that outlines the networking giant's view on "Inclusive Leadership via Language".
The post points out that language matters.
[2]
"Why practice inclusive language? Simply put, to bring your team together," wrote Maulie Dass, global lead for Cisco's Innovation Labs. "We may never truly know people's histories, and what you consider unimportant may be a barrier to progress for another person," she added.
[3]
[4]
Dass therefore tries to use inclusive language – a topic the tech industry considered in 2020 and 2021 when it was realized that terms like "blacklist" and "hanging processes" were off-putting or offensive.
An Inclusive Naming Initiative with representatives of many big tech companies quickly formed and set about defining a dictionary of terms that describe common computing cant without also referring to violence, gender, or racial stereotypes.
[5]
As a result, [6]VMware stopped referring to "male" and "female" hardware , and Splunk [7]decided that software "freezes" rather than "hanging" .
Linux kernel lead developer Linus Torvalds [8]signed off on language standards that replaced terms like "master" and "slave" with alternatives such as "primary" and "secondary" relationships, "leaders" and "followers", or even "directors" and "performers".
Dass's post revisits much of the debate that went into the changes outlined above, adding her preference to avoid terms that connote ability and disability. "This includes terms like 'handicapped' or using medical conditions in a derogatory way (e.g., 'I'm so ADHD today,' and 'blind spot')," she wrote.
[9]'Chinese wall'? Who uses 'Chinese wall'? Well, IBM did, and it actually means 'firewall'
[10]Developers renew push to get rid of objectionable code terms to make 'the world a tiny bit more welcoming'
[11]VMware to stop describing hardware as ‘male’ and ‘female’ in new terminology guide
[12]Microsoft rolls out tools and improvements to make its stuff more accessible
The post also includes a list of violent language to avoid, and suggested replacements.
"That'll kill two birds with one stone" is suggested as not suitable to remain in your vocabulary, with "That'll feed two birds with one scone" preferred.
[13]
We have so many questions about that one. What size birds? Is it safe for birds to eat scones? Is that a nasty crunchy American scone, or a delightful and fluffy British scone? With or without strawberry jam? Ditto cream? And is the cream on top, or the jam?
But we digress. Biting the bullet, jumping the gun, taking a stab at something, pulling the trigger, and rolling with the punches are all suggested as phrases you might consider retiring. Instead try "not avoiding any longer", "starting too soon", "making a first pass", "launching", and "just moving forward".
Cisco's post arrives at a tricky cultural moment, as brewer Anheuser-Busch learned when it recently celebrated a transgender customer and found itself the target of consumer boycotts and a vivid social media campaign in which some people shot at cans of the company's beers to protest the promo.
The tech industry seems more comfortable with inclusive themes. A recent [14]post to the Inclusive Naming Initiative mailing list asked if inactivity in the group indicated it had wound up.
The lack of recent posts was attributed to the initiative having succeeded. "I think it's reasonable to declare victory and move on," was one response. ®
Get our [15]Tech Resources
[1] https://blogs.cisco.com/csr/inclusive-leadership-via-language
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/bootnotes&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2ZFtrRXnz7GsdywPu4yeoyQAAAE8&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/bootnotes&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZFtrRXnz7GsdywPu4yeoyQAAAE8&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/bootnotes&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33ZFtrRXnz7GsdywPu4yeoyQAAAE8&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/bootnotes&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZFtrRXnz7GsdywPu4yeoyQAAAE8&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2020/07/23/vmware_offensive_terminology_style_guide/
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2021/03/01/splunk_unbiased_documentation_guide/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2020/07/13/linux_adopts_inclusive_language/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2021/04/12/ibm_biased_terminology/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2020/06/08/developers_renew_push_to_get/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2020/07/23/vmware_offensive_terminology_style_guide/
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2023/03/10/microsoft_accessibility_products/
[13] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/bootnotes&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33ZFtrRXnz7GsdywPu4yeoyQAAAE8&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[14] https://groups.google.com/g/inclusivenaming/c/AMbxK3IHM2Q
[15] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Probably safest that way.
Nuking it from orbit is the safest way.
surely that should be sonically challenged?
As someone with a speech impediment, I am offended by your comment.
(not really)
Scones
With enough cream and jam, wouldn't "kill two birds with one scone" be more appropriate? Or is that diet-shaming?
Re: Scones
If you used the Stone of Scone you could probably kill more than two.
Or even the Scone of Stone. (which strangely is the only one I had actually heard of until about 2 weeks ago)
Jam or Cream on first?
Disclaimer:- I am the contrarian who puts JoF on one half and CoF on the other; I have no axe to grind.
SWMBO says "if your nostrils aren't plugged with cream each time you take a bite, you don't have enough cream" mind you she also doesn't like putting any butter on her scones so there is that.
Personally if you have butter (and I do) I find the jam makes a good adhesion layer between the butter and cream. If, on the other hand, one decrys the golden goodness then the cream just replaces butter so CoF is the way to go.
Scone, Butter, Cream, Jam is, in my experience, a disaster waiting to happen, all those lubricated layers sliding across each other conspire to dump the jam in your lap (or, worse, your cup of tea)
As to feeding two birds with one scone - not going to happen; who ever has scones left over to feed the birds isn't taking the cream tea seriously enough.
Offended by their own language? Just wait until they learn their own history whence it came!
The amount of arrogance on display here is shocking. These phrases are older than your country. Fuck off.
I can see you need some more time in the anger management class.
Are you saying their feelings are not valid? You want to oppress them?
It's every mans, or woman's, right to be angry, even if it's not physically possible for himself, or herself, to show anger.
As an Eskimo, I take offence at saying the computer "freezes"!!! People can die from the cold here, thank you very much....
We dont have any wood around here, so "Hanging" is a much more appropriate term! Geez, I thought this was supposed to be inclusive language day... sheesh...
Ooh, I was told that Eskimo was derogatory (similar to a certain n-word) and the proper term is Inuit. By someone of Greenlandic extraction.
Get a life, hand-wringers & namby-pambys.
"The lack of recent posts was attributed to the initiative having succeeded."
Actually, it's because the "initiative" is being completely ignored by the vast majority of people. I am still hearing whitelist and blacklist, master & slave, hanging processes and etc. pretty much all over Silly Con Valley, which is one of the most mixed melting pots on the planet. Nobody seems to have any issue with it ... EXCEPT a few holier than thou loudmouths.
These words have technical meanings, when used in a technical manner. If you are offended when I discuss the master clock on my network, or the slave cylinders on my car's brakes, or the blacklist of IP addresses that I block at the border routers, or what have you, when it is bloody obvious that there is absolutely zero intent for those words to have any negative meaning ... well, I respectfully suggest that you have deep seated issues to work through, and taking it out on my proper use of the English language isn't going to help matters any.
Re: Get a life, hand-wringers & namby-pambys.
I am reminded that English has more words than any other language, by a factor of two or three I believe. So many options to be offended by!
How many of the people trying to piss around with English usage are actually offended by the usage, and how many are people trying hard to be offended on their behalf?
Re: "English has more words than any other language, , by a factor of two or three"
[1]not even close
[1] https://blog.rosettastone.com/which-language-has-the-most-words/
Re: "English has more words than any other language, , by a factor of two or three"
I stand corrected; thank you.
Re: Get a life, hand-wringers & namby-pambys.
Snowflakes come in lots of flavours.
You seem quite upset about the use of inclusive language.
Calm down dear.
Re: Get a life, hand-wringers & namby-pambys.
Interesting you used "Calm down dear" considering that "dear" "love" and "pet" have been actively discouraged in English county council's where in fact it's non gender or race based. A classic example of trying to "be inclusive" by wiping out it's actual intent
Re: Get a life, hand-wringers & namby-pambys.
Words like "dear", "love", "pet"--and on this side of the pond--"honey"/"hon" are discouraged because they can be used to diminish the listener's stature. Of course, I rarely hear them used this way; mostly they're just a way to be friendly. The majority of words I see being banned are because someone fixated on one unusual meaning and ignored all the other meanings.
Also, "calm down" is discouraged, because it indicates that the speaker doesn't think the listener's emotions are valid.
Fry two engineers with one screwdriver?
Feed two spy agencies from a single firewall?
Re: Fry two engineers with one screwdriver?
Share my screwdriver? Not on your nellie.
Re: Fry two engineers with one screwdriver?
It's normally a network tap, not a firewall.
Boycott The Language Marxists-Nazis
We know what happens if you give in to these folks: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felix_Dzerzhinsky
First they come for your language, then for your freedom and finally for your life.
And no, it does not matter that they have teamed up with Big Business and Big Money. Actually, Marxism is a London Invention !
They don't even tell us what the words in the "fireable-offense list" are. I guess we'll only know when we're fired.
Well
...being fired by a Woke Corporation should be worn as a Medal Of Honor !
Blind spot
Is particularly silly as it refers to a feature of the eyes of (I think) all vertebrates. It is in no way ableist.
Re: Blind spot
Indeed, it's where the optic nerve joins the retina.
Let's have a brainstorm about this use of language, or should we be thinking outside the switch
"I think it's reasonable to declare victory and move on"
Yes, please move on. The Woke is satisfied, for now. The poor itty bitty processes will never hang again, justice is done, amen, hallelujia.
So, what's the new designation for black holes ?
"Inclusive Leadership"
Is that were "unnecessary" middle-manglement now lurk?
BlackRock
They now demand this stuff from the companies they own stock of.
Re: BlackRock
And 12,000 redundancies, but that goes without saying.
"hanging processes"
Really? Isn't the "hang" in "hung process" more about it being "tangled up and not able to escape"?
I really wish these people would go away and let the rest of us focus on something important.
The cynic in me…
Says this is just another easy way for “experts” to charge more money while contributing nothing of value. Pay-per-incident customers now get to pay MSPs to change the letter a to be the letter o across policies ranging from server-side spam filters all the way through to web browser GPOs Additionally there’s now a need to remember every combination of language related to each time period, something the IT community wanted to avoid by standardising on historical words.
This stupidity is being sold to you by the same morons who brought us containers as a replacement for correctly named shared objects, the same blundering buffoons who gave us agile development and the same suits who bullied everyone at school!
Re: The cynic in me…
"… The rich kid becomes a junkie,
The poor kid an advertiser,
What a tragic waste of potential,
Being a junkie's not so good either,…" (TISM, 1995)
Making a first pass
Surely making even one pass is frowned upon?
Re: Making a first pass
Yes, that one-pass compiler is too fast to be allowed and can in no way be married to your code.
The two-pass compiler is ready for trial. It is a repeat offender that should be decompiled.
"making a first pass"?? I'm sorry, what? That refers to either ships of the line passing each other for a broadside (with all the direct carnage that comes with that and the historical baggage attached to navy history on top of that) or to aircraft strafing ground positions. Far too violent! I take offence!
Some consultant must have been paid a pretty penny for this nonsense. Here I am thinking that if you get offended by basic language (be it pronouns or idioms) you have some personal issues to sort out first and maybe I don't want to hire you until you do...
Interesting... I assumed it was a sports metaphor, perhaps from American football. Which looks silly in the good list when they want to banish "jumped the gun", which is another sports metaphor.
Way too complicated
Can't they suggest [1]a rule of thumb ?
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rule_of_thumb#19th-century_United_States
Anybody pretending that Conservatives are behind the "culture war" need to give their heads a wobble.
I'm speechless.