My issue with the "whitelist/blacklist", "master/slave" and "dummy value" changes is the following:
"White" and "black" have been used to signify "good" and "bad" probably since around 100 BCE [0]. I don't think this is, in itself, a problem. The problem arises when anyone would decide to connect that "white" and "black" to someone's race or skin colour, a connection which I find absolutely ridiculous and incomprehensible.
If we follow this line of reasoning, we shouldn't describe situations as "insane" or "crazy" because those words could also be used to describe people with mental health condition. Does this mean we should stop using any negative word in the language that could conceivably be used to describe a group of people as well?
I think not, because "insane situation" and "insane person" are two completely different and unrelated usages with different meanings, even if the word is the same -- just like "whitelist" and "white person".
This is my current view and I'm happy to have my view changed, so please let me know what your opinions are!
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[ 3.9 ms ] story [ 16.5 ms ] thread"White" and "black" have been used to signify "good" and "bad" probably since around 100 BCE [0]. I don't think this is, in itself, a problem. The problem arises when anyone would decide to connect that "white" and "black" to someone's race or skin colour, a connection which I find absolutely ridiculous and incomprehensible.
If we follow this line of reasoning, we shouldn't describe situations as "insane" or "crazy" because those words could also be used to describe people with mental health condition. Does this mean we should stop using any negative word in the language that could conceivably be used to describe a group of people as well?
I think not, because "insane situation" and "insane person" are two completely different and unrelated usages with different meanings, even if the word is the same -- just like "whitelist" and "white person".
This is my current view and I'm happy to have my view changed, so please let me know what your opinions are!
[0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_of_the_Sons_of_Light_Again...