Master & Slave Terminology
Eviscerator
Join Date: 2003-02-24 Member: 13946Members, Constellation
Join Date: 2003-02-24 Member: 13946Members, Constellation
in Discussions
<div class="IPBDescription">... no longer acceptable to LA County</div> What have we come to?
<a href='http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/ptech/11/26/master.term.reut/index.html' target='_blank'>'Master' and 'slave' computer labels unacceptable, officials say</a>
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Wednesday, November 26, 2003 Posted: 11:33 AM EST (1633 GMT)
LOS ANGELES, California (Reuters) -- Los Angeles officials have asked that manufacturers, suppliers and contractors stop using the terms "master" and "slave" on computer equipment, saying such terms are unacceptable and offensive.
The request -- which has some suppliers furious and others busy re-labeling components -- came after an unidentified worker spotted a videotape machine carrying devices labeled "master" and "slave" and filed a discrimination complaint with the county's Office of Affirmative Action Compliance.
In the computer industry, "master" and "slave" are used to refer to primary and secondary hard disk drives. The terms are also used in other industries.
"Based on the cultural diversity and sensitivity of Los Angeles County, this is not an acceptable identification label," Joe Sandoval, division manager of purchasing and contract services, said in a memo sent to County vendors.
"We would request that each manufacturer, supplier and contractor review, identify and remove/change any identification or labeling of equipment components that could be interpreted as discriminatory or offensive in nature," Sandoval said in the memo, which was distributed last week and made available to Reuters.
The memo did not include any suggestions for alternative labels.
Dennis Tafoya, director of the affirmative action office, said in a separate memo that an "exhaustive search" had been undertaken to find all such labels and replace them with more "appropriate" ones. A form was sent to all departments to identify equipment carrying the labels "master" and "slave" or any other offensive terms.
Faced with an avalanche of complaints from vendors and the general public, Sandoval told Reuters in an interview that his memo was intended as "nothing more than a request" and not an ultimatum or policy change.
"I do understand that this term has been an industry standard for years and years and this is nothing more than a plea to vendors to see what they can do," he said. "It appears that some folks have taken this a little too literally."
Sandoval said that he had already rejected a suggestion that the county stop buying all equipment carrying the "master" and "slave" labels and had no intention of enforcing a ban on such terms with suppliers.
"But we are culturally sensitive and we have 90,000 employees," he said. "We have to take these things seriously."
Sandoval added that in addition to the e-mails he's received "telling me how stupid I am and how I should be fired" he has gotten a positive response from some companies willing to reexamine their labels.
In June, the Los Angeles city council unanimously passed a law requiring that any companies doing business with the city disclose profits they may have made from slavery in the 19th Century. In 2000, the council supported federal legislation seeking reparations for descendants of slaves.
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What's next? We can't call floppy drives floppy anymore because it is derogatory to those with erectile dysfunction? Motherboard has to be changed to Systemboard, because the mothers of this world don't like to be considered as inanimate objects? This is one example of political correctness having gone too far.
<a href='http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/ptech/11/26/master.term.reut/index.html' target='_blank'>'Master' and 'slave' computer labels unacceptable, officials say</a>
<!--QuoteBegin--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->
Wednesday, November 26, 2003 Posted: 11:33 AM EST (1633 GMT)
LOS ANGELES, California (Reuters) -- Los Angeles officials have asked that manufacturers, suppliers and contractors stop using the terms "master" and "slave" on computer equipment, saying such terms are unacceptable and offensive.
The request -- which has some suppliers furious and others busy re-labeling components -- came after an unidentified worker spotted a videotape machine carrying devices labeled "master" and "slave" and filed a discrimination complaint with the county's Office of Affirmative Action Compliance.
In the computer industry, "master" and "slave" are used to refer to primary and secondary hard disk drives. The terms are also used in other industries.
"Based on the cultural diversity and sensitivity of Los Angeles County, this is not an acceptable identification label," Joe Sandoval, division manager of purchasing and contract services, said in a memo sent to County vendors.
"We would request that each manufacturer, supplier and contractor review, identify and remove/change any identification or labeling of equipment components that could be interpreted as discriminatory or offensive in nature," Sandoval said in the memo, which was distributed last week and made available to Reuters.
The memo did not include any suggestions for alternative labels.
Dennis Tafoya, director of the affirmative action office, said in a separate memo that an "exhaustive search" had been undertaken to find all such labels and replace them with more "appropriate" ones. A form was sent to all departments to identify equipment carrying the labels "master" and "slave" or any other offensive terms.
Faced with an avalanche of complaints from vendors and the general public, Sandoval told Reuters in an interview that his memo was intended as "nothing more than a request" and not an ultimatum or policy change.
"I do understand that this term has been an industry standard for years and years and this is nothing more than a plea to vendors to see what they can do," he said. "It appears that some folks have taken this a little too literally."
Sandoval said that he had already rejected a suggestion that the county stop buying all equipment carrying the "master" and "slave" labels and had no intention of enforcing a ban on such terms with suppliers.
"But we are culturally sensitive and we have 90,000 employees," he said. "We have to take these things seriously."
Sandoval added that in addition to the e-mails he's received "telling me how stupid I am and how I should be fired" he has gotten a positive response from some companies willing to reexamine their labels.
In June, the Los Angeles city council unanimously passed a law requiring that any companies doing business with the city disclose profits they may have made from slavery in the 19th Century. In 2000, the council supported federal legislation seeking reparations for descendants of slaves.
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What's next? We can't call floppy drives floppy anymore because it is derogatory to those with erectile dysfunction? Motherboard has to be changed to Systemboard, because the mothers of this world don't like to be considered as inanimate objects? This is one example of political correctness having gone too far.
Comments
Faced with an avalanche of complaints from vendors and the general public, Sandoval told Reuters in an interview that his memo was intended as "nothing more than a request" and not an ultimatum or policy change.
"I do understand that this term has been an industry standard for years and years and this is nothing more than a plea to vendors to see what they can do," he said. "It appears that some folks have taken this a little too literally."
Sandoval said that he had already rejected a suggestion that the county stop buying all equipment carrying the "master" and "slave" labels and had no intention of enforcing a ban on such terms with suppliers.
[...]
Sandoval added that in addition to the e-mails he's received "telling me how stupid I am and how I should be fired" he has gotten a positive response from some companies willing to reexamine their labels.
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I can see why this would be ridiculous if it was some new law trying to get passed, but I don't see what the fuss is about if it's just a memo. People have taken it too literally. If companies volunteer to come up with a more politically correct industry standard, so much the better.
No one is trying to get the word negro removed from Spanish books. It means black. There might be another use for a word in some other context (one that is very politically incorrect,) however that does not mean that word should be removed in *every* place it is used. It's no different in computer terminology. I highly doubt the geeks who first started using those terms thought "gee, this is great opportunity to express our political feelings on the slave trade in America." They thought "one drive must act as the master controller for the IDE channel, and the other must act as the subordinate slave."
I agree...
with...
EVIS...
Let me just say it's been great. I'm sorry we had to rip apart the fabric of space-time. <!--emo&:(--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/sad.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='sad.gif'><!--endemo-->
This kind of censorship is idiotic at best. A legitimate word that MIGHT be interpreted in a bad way by hyper-sensitive people, so its banned? It seems to me that the problem is the person, not the word.
(Edit) All this agreeing with Evis is going to have an adverse affect on our climates, I would buy your fireproof umbrellas now people. <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif'><!--endemo-->
The whole master-slave thing is completly ridiculous. I can't imagine who would take offense to that. But the nature of the law these days is that you seem to be able to sue anyone for just about anything, which means that companies just don't want to take the risk. The real problem with political correctness is exactly that: everyone is afraid to get sued.
I started working for Coles (a supermarket chain) a few years ago, Orientation training was 2 days long. Guess what most of it was. Teaching us how not to get Coles sued. For example, know how there are signs in stores saying "management reserves the right to check customer's bags"? Well if the customer says "No, you can't look in my bag", we can't do anything. Yep, there can be an unpaid item sticking out and we can't do jack. We can't call female customers "Ma'am". Sueing again. We can't tell someone that it's a bad idea for their child to sit on the front of the trolley. Sure, the kid could fall off and break their neck, but woe betide the poor Coles employee who tries to tell a mother this rather important fact.
It's quite frankly insane. And worse, it shows no sign of abating. If anyone ever watched "Sliders", there was an episode which showed a world where you could sue anyone for anything. Fast food restaurants required various documentation showing that your blood cholesterol level was low, you had no heart problems and weren't overweight. Bumping into a person on a pedestrian crossing was grounds for a lawsuit. This is where we are heading. I shudder to think what will result from our current course.
The public has been largly apethetic and indifferent to...well everything for years...but it seems we are snapping out of it. Slowly :/
The politically correct brigade are just as bad as the soccermums lot mentioned in this forum recently. A bunch of little people who are repressing their own guilt by projecting their own issues onto others. It's not nice for the rest of us and ultimately doesn't deal with their issues. And it causes problems like this. If such people directed their energy into sorting out real-world issues such as homelessness or poverty or HIV epidemics rather than petty issues, then they might feel less bitter about the world.
I think any lawyer that brings about a frivolous suit should be thrown in jail and countersued for everything they've got. The only way to curb this behavior is to cut it off where it starts. Make people think twice before dialing 1-800-SUE-THEM. Start with the lawyers, since they're the ones who allow it to happen and no one likes them anyways. Then go after the plaintiffs. It'll take some judge with a set of cajones to actually do this, however.
I think any lawyer that brings about a frivolous suit should be thrown in jail and countersued for everything they've got. The only way to curb this behavior is to cut it off where it starts. Make people think twice before dialing 1-800-SUE-THEM. Start with the lawyers, since they're the ones who allow it to happen and no one likes them anyways. Then go after the plaintiffs. It'll take some judge with a set of cajones to actually do this, however. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
Phew, that was a close one. I need to disagree with this.
It strikes me that the REAL problem is a culture-wide sense of entitlement thats developed (Thanks FDR!). Juries are awarding RIDICULOUSLY high payments when stupid judges make asinine rulings. I think the real answer would be to cap non-physical damages at $200,000 or something (ie pain and suffering, anguish, etc). Bush tried to press for this for medical malpractice (a big source of trial laywer greed). I personally agree with this approach.
What say you peoples?
By the way, can we stop blaming all this PC speak on liberals? As a left wing individual myself I abhore much of this endless tirade of "correct speak", and I can't find another left wing person on these forums, or in real life, who is a staunch supporter of this. So unless the "American Association of Left Wing Citizens and Like Minded Individuals" is behind this, please stop blaming it on us!
Egads!
"Yeah, ok, master and slave, haha"
"No, I'm serious, that's what they're called"
Carry on, persons.
(Warning: you may not love/believe in a "god", I am sorry to anyone I may have offended for using the term "god" in a public forum.)
Sounds to me like there oughta be a round up followed by a good ol' fashioned ***-kicking for no other reason but that these people are imbeciles.
Liberals, conservatives, and everyone in between . We need to stop this cattle feces.
I'm pretty much a hippie, but I can see when common sense is getting raped...
What say you peoples? <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
And in an impressive bank shot, Jammer manages to blame this on the Democrats and lionize President Bush, in a single bound! <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif'><!--endemo-->
At any rate, we're in serious need of torte reform in this nation, which is especially tricky because we need to devise a system (which, in the olden days was referred to as 'common sense') where the corporation is protected from the frequent slimy, manipulative consumer, while at the same time, the consumer is protected from the frequent incompetent, deceitful, careless corporation.
Hence, we need a system that will adequately compensate the guy in the zoo who gets mauled by the lion that breaks out of his cage, without likewise rewarding the idiot who puts peanut butter on his wang and hangs it over the fence at the polar bear pit.
I have no idea why that analogy occurred to me, but when it did I liked it, so there you go.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but in the UK, isn't the system set up so that a failed lawsuit becomes costly to the person who launched it? I recall someone telling me that this led to a lot fewer frivilous cases, but I can't find any info on it right now. Can anyone (especially one of our Brits) confirm or deny?
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Yeah that's right, I'm quoting myself because I feel like a broken record. <b>Stop blaming this on liberals.</b>
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Yeah that's right, I'm quoting myself because I feel like a broken record. <b>Stop blaming this on liberals.</b> <!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I tire of it too, Rhyo, and if you want it to stop, you have to play their own game against them.
Obviously those of you who are right-wing rednecks and think this is all fine are <b>racist, pro-slavery bigots.</b>
Something along those lines should stir a change in how they bring politics into it <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif'><!--endemo-->
Obviously those of you who are right-wing rednecks and think this is all fine are <b>racist, pro-slavery bigots.</b>
Something along those lines should stir a change in how they bring politics into it <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif'><!--endemo-->
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I disdain the use of redneck as a negative as I fall into that group of people along with the majority of hard working farmers, ranchers, and blue-collar workers. These people do not neccesarily agree with right wing nor left wing spin, and are generally kind and gentle people seeking to better their situations by working their hardest. Note that this is a social economic group, not a group of ideologes.
The origins of the term "redneck" come from a white collar based slur upon those who work outside during the daylight hours and thus gain a sunburned or "red" neck. In the northern states and among out-of-touch generations of the wealthy by inheritance, the term's definition has become more upsetting and belittling by suggesting that such people engauge in vile activities. This unjustified attack of the nation's backbone is normally excused simply because the well to do consider themselves above the so called "rednecks" and thus more civilized.
In the war of liberals and conservatives, a war of mindsets, one should not classify one mindset as making up an entire social class nor should one classify one social class as making up an entire mindset.
In a nutshell, there are plenty of liberal rednecks unless of course the liberal ideology can only be applied to the rich and socially bigoted. Of course the new technicalities involved in this scandalous peice of information would mean the newly identified "liberal class" would be against social advancement of any kind. Meaning that there are many groups of individuals they are actively working to keep down. This would most likely include the minorities of our nation. Startling thought, eh?
If one wishes for war against an opposing ideology, then do not step upon thine own people. The results of such an action could be disasterous. <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif'><!--endemo-->
I'll quote myself as well Rhyo, it's not any one sides fault.
Thanks BR. I try! <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif'><!--endemo-->
And in yet another sign of the Apocalypse, I agree with Bathroom Monkey. Stupidity has become too rewarding and juries are far too lenient in cash rewards. We need Torte reform hardcore.
I will agree that these are morons (right or left) and not your average liberals.