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It would have been funnier if they implied the dodgy CA was racist.
If the joke itself is racist then a typical reaction would be to consider it less funny.
Honest Ahmed (2011)
31–40 of 58 posts
Re: Honest Ahmed (2011)
#32For those looking for more context - If memory serves it was in response to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comodo_Cybersecurity#Certifica... and the various controversies around it. Honest Achmed has been one of my favorites for as long as its been around.
And also Symantec, and now Entrust. All of these CAs have incredibly sloppy vetting procedures and/or control over their resellers. In many cases they didn't even check CAA records to see if they'd be authorized to issue new certs, even though it has been a requirement for years. They had one job, and failed abysmally at it, relying on their too big to fail status. You can feel the frustration of people like Adam Langley at Google over his inability to bring the banhammer to bear fast enough on those clowns.
Re: Honest Ahmed (2011)
#33Earlier quoted context omitted.
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It would have been funnier if they implied the dodgy CA was racist. If the joke itself is racist then a typical reaction would be to consider it less funny.
The ability to find humor in taboo topics is actually a sign of cognitive flexibility and social intelligence.
Re: Honest Ahmed (2011)
#34Achmed, not Ahmed ...
Yes as far as the title on the Mozilla page goes but: Ahmed is pronounced Achmed (if your first langues is e.g. English). Among my Arab friends with that name the spelling that omits the 'c' is more common. Another common form is Ahmad which is still pronounced the same. The version with 'c' is one that contains a pronunciation hint for people whose native language is not Arabic (but probably English). As is the one…
> The version with 'c' is one that contains a pronunciation hint for people whose native language is not Arabic (but probably English).
What hint would that be? There's no 'c' sound in the Arabic version.
Re: Honest Ahmed (2011)
#35[flagged]
I actually think that the used car salesman qualifier needed to be added to add the element of dishonesty to the character. I feel the middle-eastern name does plays into the trope of non-westerners's reliance on informal networks of kinship and reputation, but not necessarily dishonesty.
Re: Honest Ahmed (2011)
#36Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yes as far as the title on the Mozilla page goes but: Ahmed is pronounced Achmed (if your first langues is e.g. English). Among my Arab friends with that name the spelling that omits the 'c' is more common. Another common form is Ahmad which is still pronounced the same. The version with 'c' is one that contains a pronunciation hint for people whose native language is not Arabic (but probably English). As is the one…
> The version with 'c' is one that contains a pronunciation hint for people whose native language is not Arabic (but probably English). What hint would that be? There's no 'c' sound in the Arabic version.
“ch” like in Scottish English “loch” is closer to the “h” in “Ahmad” than the normal English “h"
Re: Honest Ahmed (2011)
#37Meta question: where do people find these kinds of funny stuff??
Front page of Hacker News
Re: Honest Ahmed (2011)
#38Earlier quoted context omitted.
It would have been funnier if they implied the dodgy CA was racist. If the joke itself is racist then a typical reaction would be to consider it less funny.
The ability to find humor in taboo topics is actually a sign of cognitive flexibility and social intelligence.
It's not like people condemning the choice of the name are unable to find the humor. We do find it. We are briefly entertained. Then we pause and ponder. Is it a good idea to use a negative stereotype in a joke? Don't we run the risk of confirming the stereotype even more?
We then find out that our answer to that question is "no". And we bring up the issue with other people.
There is no "inability to find humor" at play here.
Re: Honest Ahmed (2011)
#39Earlier quoted context omitted.
It would have been funnier if they implied the dodgy CA was racist. If the joke itself is racist then a typical reaction would be to consider it less funny.
The ability to find humor in taboo topics is actually a sign of cognitive flexibility and social intelligence.
Finding humour in racism may indicate any or all of:
1) cognitive flexibility 2) social intelligence 3) racism ;-)
Dodgy Dick would have been funnier.
Re: Honest Ahmed (2011)
#40Earlier quoted context omitted.
> The version with 'c' is one that contains a pronunciation hint for people whose native language is not Arabic (but probably English). What hint would that be? There's no 'c' sound in the Arabic version.
“ch” like in Scottish English “loch” is closer to the “h” in “Ahmad” than the normal English “h"
No, it's not. It's a soft 'H' sound in Arabic, the same as in Muhammad. It's closer to the English 'H'. The Scottish 'ch' is a different letter entirely in Arabic and doesn't appear in this name.