elvis writes: > If you are not a native English speaker then how do you know what > allow and reject mean?
By knowing the English language and therefor having the words "allow", "reject", and "list" in his vocabulary. "Blacklist" and "whitelist" are also English words but not part of basic English[1]. One could easily have enough English to know the basic meanings of "white", "black", and "list" but still not immediately intuit the meanings of "whitelist" and "blacklist". It's hard for native speakers to see that because of the somewhat cultural association of "white" (not the race: just the color) with positive and "black" with negative. "Master" and "slave", on the other hand, are quite clear. Human slavery being extinct as a legal practice[2] and almost extinct as an illegal one I see no reason not to repurpose the terms. [1] "Blacklist" has nothing to do with race. It goes back to 17th century English politics. The term "whitelist" was invented quite recently to describe the reverse of a blacklist. [2] I consider military conscription slavery but almost no one agrees with me so that's irrelevant here. -- John Hasler jhas...@newsguy.com Elmwood, WI USA
