| 2009-02-03 20:55:49 |
Andrew |
description |
Binary package hint: tree
The tree(1) manpage contains the statement:
"The IEC standard names for powers of 2 cooresponding to metric powers of 10 (KiBi, et al.) are gay." [1]
It is unclear to me what the intended meaning of this statement must be, as I am not familiar with the standard in question. I believe it to be highly unlikely, however, that any technical standard has a sexual orientation, leaving me only to interpret this usage of the word "gay" as pejorative and homophobic [2].
I realize that others may not share my personal opinion on the matter, but, irrespective of the larger issues at hand, an open source computer operating system, Ubuntu perhaps even more so than others, should always stay well clear of controversial social debates.
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[1] http://manpages.ubuntu.com/manpages/jaunty/en/man1/tree.1.html#toptoc7
[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gay#Pejorative_non-sexualized_usage |
Binary package hint: tree
The tree(1) manpage contains the statement:
"The IEC standard names for powers of 2 cooresponding to metric powers of 10 (KiBi, et al.) are gay." [1]
It is unclear to me what the intended meaning of this statement must be, as I am not familiar with the standard in question. I believe it to be highly unlikely, however, that any technical standard has a sexual orientation, leaving me only to interpret this usage of the word "gay" as pejorative and homophobic [2].
I realize that others may not share my personal opinion on the matter, but, irrespective of the larger issues at hand, it is in the best interest of any an open source computer operating system, Ubuntu perhaps even more so than others, to always stay well clear of controversial social debates.
--
[1] http://manpages.ubuntu.com/manpages/jaunty/en/man1/tree.1.html#toptoc7
[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gay#Pejorative_non-sexualized_usage |
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