[GTALUG] your desktop too boring?

[Russell Reiter]

On Mon, Aug 19, 2019, 11:09 PM Chris F.A. Johnson via talk <talk at gtalug.org>
wrote:

> On Mon, 19 Aug 2019, Alex Volkov via talk wrote:
>
> > Hey Hugh,
> >
> > Just a quick note while wearing a moderator hat on this mailing list.
> >
> > You may not be aware of it, but 'Rice it' is a pejorative term, please
> > avoid using it here.
> >
> > See -- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rice_burner
>
>     "In some cases users of the term assert that it is not offensive or
>      racist,[12] or else treat the term as a humorous, mild insult
>      rather than a racial slur."
>
>      And in the articles referred to, it is certainly NOT being used as
>      a racial slur.
>

In fact since the advent of bio-fuel it is possible to use rice
fermentation produced alcohol in vehicles so the term is amorphous and
would not fall within the Tlug code of conduct which relates to
discrimination against people.
"Discrimination

We are dedicated to creating and preserving an inclusive, nondiscriminatory
environment, regardless of age, gender, gender identity and expression,
sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, or
religion.

Accessibility is an important part of being inclusive. We favor
accessibility, and where accessibility issues are identified, we strive to
document and communicate them. When accessible alternatives to any tools or
venues are brought to our attention, we investigate them to the best of our
ability."

All these protections afforded by the code of conduct relate to persons and
personalities. It is impossible to discriminate against crafted objects,
they are not persons. Otherwise people would be moderated for saying
Chromebooks are crap compared to Thinkpads.

AI would have to make a quantum leap for a manufactured object to be able
to take offence at being designated in a perjorative manner. Maybe some day
when they do develop personalities and the associated cognative ability to
be offended, but that day has not come yet.

Without offence to the moderator, this is silly season stuff and serves no
purpose except as an exercise of dominance of personality. You cannot
discriminate against, or be perjorative towards a class of person who does
not exist, even if they subscribe to the list as an AI chatbot.


The aim of all equality legislation, aka Human Rights, is to protect a
persons own personality from degrading conduct which is aimed directly at
them as a member of a proscribed class. That is what hate speach is, why it
is designated as such and why its publication may be prohibited. It it most
pointedly not to be used to abrogate freedom of expression or to create a
dominant authority where that authority does not exist.

>
> > Thank you,
> >
> > Alex.
> >
> >
> >
> > On 2019-08-19 7:14 p.m., D. Hugh Redelmeier via talk wrote:
> >> <https://www.reddit.com/r/unixporn/>
> >>
> >> Personally, I like a boring desktop.
> >>
> >> I found this from a blog post:
> >>
> > <
> https://triosdevelopers.com/jason.eckert/blog/Entries/2019/4/7_How_ricing_shifted_from_cars_to_computers.html
> >
> >>
> >> This guy has a nice collection of old computers (in Cambridge, Ontario):
> >> <https://triosdevelopers.com/jason.eckert/retro_computing.html>
>
> --
>     Chris F.A. Johnson                         <http://cfajohnson.com/>
>     =========================== Author: ===============================
>     Shell Scripting Recipes: A Problem-Solution Approach (2005, Apress)
>     Pro Bash Programming: Scripting the GNU/Linux shell (2009, Apress)
> ---
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