On Fri, Mar 15, 2024 at 01:42:25AM +0100, Emanuel Berg wrote: > Mike Castle wrote: > > >> It is "fixing" an issue for today's English speakers. > >> Should we scour our systems looking for similar issues in > >> other languages? Then in, say, 20 years time when different > >> words will then be considered offensive, by some, do this > >> all again? > > > > Yes. > > Remember, there are A LOT of words and expressions we don't > use anymore, and that's good, as they are offensive and > disrespectful. But once they were perfectly normal. Still, one > by one, they have disappeared from active use.
That is the big difference. Not use words *currently* deemed offensive in *new* publications (books, newspaper articles, ...) - this is not hard to do. What we are faced with is something very different: a call to locate and modify use in programs that might have been written a long time ago. The effort needed to do this is large and will doubtless cause failures in systems that have been working well for years. It is not just a matter of modifying Debian (+ RedHat + ...) sources but the sources on private systems. We seem to be told that this must be done by those who will not be doing the work. -- Alain Williams Linux/GNU Consultant - Mail systems, Web sites, Networking, Programmer, IT Lecturer. +44 (0) 787 668 0256 https://www.phcomp.co.uk/ Parliament Hill Computers. Registration Information: https://www.phcomp.co.uk/Contact.html #include <std_disclaimer.h>
