this post was submitted on 20 Sep 2023
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I know nobody likes a know-it-all. But FYI: The current suggestion is to call these allowlist and blocklist. I'm not sure how they're called on the router. The terms have been out there for a few years already.
One question that I have though is where does it end? The word blacklist from an etymology standpoint has got bothing to do with race. So where do we disregard the historical context of the meaning of words because people take it out of context and it makes them feel uneasy?
I am not saying that I am against using blocklist instead of blacklist. I am just asking. Where does the history anfd usage behind the term supercede the out of context hurt feelings?
Well, what do you think? I personally can't see any problems with other words in my router like "Static IPv4 Routes", "DNS Settings", "Exclude interface", "Static Leases", "Port Forwards". And I don't know of any substantial grey area. So I don't share your fear of things getting out of hand. Please correct me if I'm wrong.
I think the words do not originate from something connected with race. It's just that it's the old stereotype of white = positive/good; black = negative. And these terms are technically inferior (because less descriptive) and if it reminds someone of their skin color, I'm okay with re-thinking things. Mind: this has been my impetus for questioning the terms in the first place, not the reason or argument to change them.
I don't like black and white thinking anyways. People always want simple categories, want to know if something is good or evil. Things have to be clear opposites. And in real-life most things are somewhere in-between and if you really think about it, it's often not either or. And having the same concept everywhere just reinforces that kind of stupid thinking in categories and in opposites. So it automatically resonated with me once people suggested to change things. Also I might for example like to take a walk in the cold breeze of the night and enjoy the concept of dark/black and everything is completely arbitraty.
It doesn't even work for this simple example in the clear and mathematical world of computers. There is the black and white, but you also have greylisting. Everything depends on context once you go into detail. Maybe you accept some kind of network packets from internally, but drop them once the originate somewhere outside of your own network. And your firewall will use yet other terms like ACCEPT and DROP.
And that's where I think "it ends". Never. I'm a progressive. I'm ready to advance things forwards once there is a better proposal. I judge things based on facts. I care about consequences. I'm ready to listen to people on a case-by-case basis. I won't be butthurt because 'omg, woke people want to change my language, and language should never change'. I like to argue about facts. They're either true or false and you're free to voice your objections. We gather the new ideas and then do a cost-benefit analysis. If you're smart, you're taking this as a basis to make a decision and go with it.
And since you're asking. I'm also a proponent of changing master/slave, because for some people these words really have a negative connotation to them. And it's more or less a no-brainer to slowly phase them out and replace them with something like primary/secondary or main/worker or replica. Interestingly enough, this really has something to do with race in the US, but preceeds Black Lives Matter. I do not know of any other controversies. Feel free to contact me if you see any issues with terms like 'grey area' or 'blackout', 'zombie processes' or 'kill children when the parent process died'. We can discuss this but my main concern is to move forward and create something. I'm ready to listen to proper arguments. I'm not part of the conservative people who want to argue all day and want to know what happens in this or that hypothetical scenario. If there is an actual problem with a technical term, please approach me and I'll listen. Otherwise please keep quiet.
Is that a sane approach? Do you think those are valid arguments?
(I'm really okay with it. I have to abide by style guidelines which say how many spaces or tabs of indentation in my code and where to put my return statement. I can live with another style guideline that says avoid this word and replace it with a more appropriate term. In my eyes we should have a few funny inside jokes that are politically incorrect. It's important not to be dead serious all the time. But most of the time language should be precise and effective.)
Are people really trying to make blacklist and whitelist a race thing? Good Lord.
Are we going to start referring to cables as having female-identifying ends and male-identifying ends? Are USB-C cables non-binary?
That discussion happened a few years ago and most actively-developed projects using those terms have stopped or are stopping.
Also, btw, while hermaphroditic connectors have always been a thing, in the USB world cables tend to have male connectors on both ends regardless of if they're A-to-B, A-to-C, C-to-C, or have one of the many B variants.
Cables: that's already a thing.
However, in this case the alternate name is more obvious and probably more appropriate.
Re: naming: I agree with you since it has nothing to do with race, any more than black/white has to do with race in chess.
The world is burning. Too much plastic in the ocean. Serious war in Europe. And whitelist/blacklist is somehow a concern. We are doomed.
hi, nonbinary person here
no, you fucking doughnut! just say plug/socket or port/plug or keep calling it M/F, there are thousands of better fights to fight than this, and if anyone says otherwise, let them yell at the clouds alone.
literally yes?? what binary gender does a cablehave?????
Cables have 2 ends
male to female cable is trans confirmed
No one is trying to 'make it a race thing'. It was already 'a race thing' and we are actively trying to un-race it.
You and I being unaware of the partially racial origins of these terms (yes, I just learned about this too), doesn't erase the implications of these words and how it can be hurtful to some people.
There's no such thing as anti-wokeness, only willful ignorance. We can be better people than that.
Racial origins of those terms? Citation needed.
Black and white, in the sense of good and evil, have had their connotations for a fucking long time, whereas black and white to describe skin colour are relatively recent etymologies. I'm pretty sure that Romans didn't call themselves "white" or others "black", for example.
I'm willing to be taught, but this sounds like bullshit to me.
The etymology being wrong doesn't mean that we shouldn't drop freighted terminology, I just don't want false justification. Bullshit is never a valid reason to do something.
Wow. Just wow. I'm deliberately not replying to any single comment. I didn't know this is such an emotionally charged topic. And I don't like it.
I know the relation to 'race' and that being the cause for people arguing about it a few years ago. But isn't it a better term? If I want to block something with my firewall... I'm putting it on the blocklist (or deny-list). If I want to allow something... It's on the allowlist. Forgive me, maybe I'm a nerd and I don't care so much about the etymology. Why bring in (random) colors? Can I please use the term because I think it fits better?
And the discussion immediately shifting to connector genders... Well. Yeah I get it, it's a funny subject. And comparing something with protruding parts to a penis is funny. Also for me... But you people immediately having trouble with the terms, (rightfully) bringing in hermaphroditic connectors. And there being several disctinct/binary ones but with ambiguities so that it's more convention than protruding bits in case of electronics... It just shows naming connector sides that way is a stupid idea. It get's you most of the way but after that, it just confuses people and stops describing anything useful. I'm a bit unsure about this. Because it's one of the few accepted penis jokes you can make at work or a conference (at least innuendo). And I don't want to lose all of them. But it has never been a good 'analogy' in the sense that it is a good descriptive way to name connectors.