Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

GitHub threatens to shut down a repository for using the word 'retard'

github.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

601–610 of 845 posts

Re: GitHub threatens to shut down a repository for using the word 'retard'

#601

Post by lhorie »

CoryG89 wrote: post #40

For people who don't see what's wrong here. The issue is not about whether the word 'retard' is or is not offensive to anyone. You need to consider that GitHub currently hosts a large percentage of the web's open source repositories. This is censorship plain and simple, something that IMO has no place in open source. The issue is that there are plenty of things some people might find offensive on GitHub but you dont…

Imho, this strikes me more as a similar situation as a primary school kid getting suspended for swearing at school. Sure, freedom of speech technically allows him to say whatever he wants, but at the same time the school is responsible for preventing classes from turning into a profanity-fest.

What's the big deal if Github did delete the repo data from their servers? Isn't the whole point of Git that you can just go and setup an upstream somewhere else with a one-liner? They are merely a free hosting provider among many.

This is not a dispute against the government, so the discussion about censorship and the rights and responsibilities entailed by free speech isn't relevant at all. Remember that the free speech provision is primarily intended to be about citizens' ability to self-organize to defend their constitutional rights if their representatives don't have citizens' interests at heart; it's not meant to be used as an excuse for immature behavior.

Re: GitHub threatens to shut down a repository for using the word 'retard'

#602

Post by jgrowl »

Jonasen wrote: post #315
tn13 wrote: post #288

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That is very sensible. Github is free to impose any arbitrary rule and repo admins are free to use competitor's products. In fact Github cares very little about "offense" but probably only cares about their own profits. Private companies applying this sort of censorship is not a bad thing. For example Apple, Google completely control the apps that will feature in their apps stores. That has actually improved the secu…

There are 53 other repos containing the word retard.. https://github.com/search?utf8=%E2%9C%93&q=retard It seems to me they are just singling out a single commit to be a problem, probably because of someone oversensitive complaining about this single commit, not knowing that github is full of what could be considered offensive to some. I am personally very happy we solved all world problems and now can focus on wordi…

For that matter.... https://github.com/search?utf8=%E2%9C%93&q=nigger&type=Repos...

Re: GitHub threatens to shut down a repository for using the word 'retard'

#603

Post by plonh »

KirinDave wrote: post #561
sklogic wrote: post #557

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Of course semantics can hurt, obviously. But the choice of synonyms does not, and anyone claiming otherwise must try really hart to prove such an outrageous claim.

"idiot" is not a synonym for the word in question here. This is similar to saying that "t *ny" and "transsexual" are synonyms. They're not. Let me give you an example of how referring to you in an insulting way can change your attitudes and discourage conversation. 1. Words have a lesser impact on you because you've [a lucky person] who doesn't live a life were they have been used to deny you opportunity and basic hu…

Uh, you might want to look up "idiot" in the OED. "moron" also.

Re: GitHub threatens to shut down a repository for using the word 'retard'

#604

Post by plonh »

DanBC wrote: post #469
sklogic wrote: post #393

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> it's about using a word that causes harm Words do not cause harm. It's a slippery slope to total censorship and thought policing to think otherwise.

Words do cause harm. It's a failure of imagination to think otherwise. When you use the word retard you dehumanise people with LD. You contribute to a culture where it's okay to deny those people work; to segregate them in specialist housing; to deny them medical treatment; to kill them with lack of medical treatment. It's a slippery slope to eugenics and genocide to think otherwise.

Do you support banning all github projects that use the word "insane"? I assume you must, to be consistent in your morals.

Re: GitHub threatens to shut down a repository for using the word 'retard'

#605

Post by plonh »

DanBC wrote: post #471
Cthulhu_ wrote: post #462

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You do know "stupid person" and "idiot" are equally offensive, right? I mean the three are pretty much synonymous with each other.

Bit tricky if you include "dyslexic" (higher incidence of high IQ) in your definition of LD. See how your ignorance of the topic misled you?

Should "gimp" be banned from github?

Re: GitHub threatens to shut down a repository for using the word 'retard'

#606

Post by seivan »

saw-lau wrote: post #576
seivan wrote: post #183

It's kind of scary how many people here consider the word retard offensive. I assume words like "fucker" or "dicks" would also trigger you? I get that Github as a private corporation gets to decide what they want or don't want but that's driven on how many people genuinely get offended so I'm assuming a large portion of people genuinely got bothered by this compared to all the other shit happening in the world.

I actually find it slightly depressing how many people here don't find it offensive, and are comfortable with it. Maybe it's a US vs. UK thing? Many people in the sixties said 'coon' or 'spade,' and many people in the seventies said 'paki' or 'poof;' and you could argue that those words weren't directly offensive insults, but - to me - there is still some undercurrent of the different and qualities of 'I'm superior a…

Sweden. Not UK.

You don't get to impose words that trigger you without historical contortions on the rest of us. Please understand that. Comparison 'retard' to hate crime and racism is just obnoxiously weak and reeks of modern privilege.

Re: GitHub threatens to shut down a repository for using the word 'retard'

#608

Post by m_mueller »

cmiles74 wrote: post #551

I don't understand how censoring something because "it's offensive to someone" came to be acceptable in the first place. Nearly everything is offensive to someone, it's simply too low a bar. I'm certainly not campaigning for more use of the terms "retard" and "retarded". On the other hand, I've experienced first hand the very common, reflexive and thoughtless use of these words. Whenever it's used in my presence I ma…

Acceptable by whom? It's a privately owned service, not a democratic platform.

Re: GitHub threatens to shut down a repository for using the word 'retard'

#609

Post by Panino »

rrmm wrote: post #523
Panino wrote: post #102

Lots of misuse of the word "censorship" here and any time this subject comes up generally, not just on this site but anywhere the topic is discussed. What is/are the root issue(s) of this mistaken belief? I typed a few possibilities but they sounded preposterous so I just deleted all that. Could someone who thinks this is censorship please explain why Github doesn't have the right to control its own privately owned w…

The definition of censor is "to examine books, movies, letters, etc., in order to remove things that are considered to be offensive, immoral, harmful to society, etc.", right? Github is censoring content on their site according to their TOS. They have a right to. It's not a First Amendment issue. It's still probably worth considering if it's a good thing. Especially, if you plan to host a project that has content tha…

The definition you gave appears to be from Merriam Webster [0]. This is a good starting point, but it's crucial to note that the word "censorship" predates the modern web, with publicly read-write websites. So the word publish [1] has been radically altered as well. As for publishing, have a look at the MW examples: they all cite books or magazines. That's an old conception of publishing that clearly needs to be updated.

And censorship is intimately tied to that definition.

  1. http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/censor
  2. http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/publish

Re: GitHub threatens to shut down a repository for using the word 'retard'

#610

Post by kefka »

cmiles74 wrote: post #551

I don't understand how censoring something because "it's offensive to someone" came to be acceptable in the first place. Nearly everything is offensive to someone, it's simply too low a bar. I'm certainly not campaigning for more use of the terms "retard" and "retarded". On the other hand, I've experienced first hand the very common, reflexive and thoughtless use of these words. Whenever it's used in my presence I ma…

What's going on at Github is rather perverse. And it happens to be around the word "Meritocracy".

Because of the "feels", the word meritocracy is a 'disempowering word'. It makes people with less skill feel 'less valuable'. So the impetus is to raise your skill? No. It's to devalue others who call you on it, or disregard your uninformed opinion.

What this accumulates to is the Github rug in the headquarters. "The United Meritocracy Of GitHub".

As quoted,

"GitHub's Julie Ann Horvath, a designer who also founded the company's all-female lecture series Passion Projects, said the rug first became a problem when photos of it made their way into feminist discussions online.

The tech industry isn’t still predominantly white and male because white men are better at their jobs than everyone else, it’s because many white men have had more opportunities to succeed than their minority and female counterparts."

Yep. Because of patriarchy, meritocracy really isn't. Oh, and throw in a bash to Paul Graham. Because 'patriarchy'.

And of course, there are also allegations that the Feminist Hackerspace DoubleUnion denied a GH employee because of the rug. Some equality, huh?

So, the same cancer that hit Reddit (free speech -> 'safe space') is coming to other companies, unsurprisingly. And we have feminism to blame.

Post reply on HN