Of course, the argument wasn't that we should treat "good" and "bad" code equally (speaking of common tactics -- "straw man"). The point was that the words you use can make a huge difference.
"Ugly" is very obviously a slur. It carries a dark meaning *and* it's still being actively used towards people. Honestly, I can't imagine someone cheering up when they see that word, especially if they're self-conscious about their appearance or were told they were "ugly" at some point of their life.
It's my understanding that master/slave terminology is now deprecated, because these words carry dark meanings, too, and further alienate folks who feel uncomfortable being reminded of them everywhere. That's the idea of inclusivity: to make other people (usually from marginalized groups) feel welcome and safe. By removing/replacing the word "ugly", we could make one additional step towards being more inclusive.
13.09.2018, 19:36, "Nathaniel Smith" <njs@pobox.com>:
> On Thu, Sep 13, 2018 at 9:13 AM, Mark E. Haase <mehaase@gmail.com> wrote:
>> On Thu, Sep 13, 2018 at 10:49 AM Rhodri James <rhodri@kynesim.co.uk> wrote:
>>
>>> More importantly, this whole idea of banning and/or changing terminology
>>> is psychologically and sociologically wrong-headed. The moment you say "You
>>> may not use that word" you create a taboo, and give the word a power that it
>>> did not have before.
>>
>> Samantha posted this as a *proposal* to python-*ideas*, the mailing list
>> where we purportedly discuss... umm... ideas. Samantha has not banned any
>> words from Python, so let's tone down the hyperbole.
>>
>> These responses that assume Samantha is a troll are based on... what? Other
>> posters on this list use Yandex e-mails, and nobody called those people
>> trolls. And there are a lot of disagreements about ideas, and most of those
>> people don't get called trolls, either. The Python CoC calls for *respect*,
>> and I posit that the majority reaction to Samantha's first post has been
>> disrespectful.
>>
>> Engage the post on the ideas—or ignore it altogether—but please don't
>> automatically label newcomers with controversial ideas as trolls. Let's
>> assume her proposal was made in good faith.
>
> It's not just automatically labeling newcomers with controversial
> ideas – This is a very common tactic that online organized bigotry
> groups use: invent fake "socially progressive" personas, and use them
> to stir up arguments, undermine trust, split communities, etc. The
> larger campaigns are pretty well documented:
>
> http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_factor/2014/06/16/_endfathersday_is_a_hoax_fox_news_claims_feminists_want_to_get_rid_of_father.html
> https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/ryanhatesthis/your-slip-is-showing-4chan-trolls-operation-lollipop
> https://birdeemag.com/free-bleeding-thing/
> https://www.dailydot.com/parsec/femcon-4chan-convention-scam/
> http://www.newnownext.com/clovergender-hoax-fake-prank-pharma-bro-martin-shkreli-4chan-troll/01/2017/
>
> Smaller-scale versions are also common – these people love to jump
> into difficult conversations and try to make them more difficult.
>
> That said, in OP's case we don't actually know either way, and even
> trolls can inadvertently suggest good ideas, so we should consider the
> proposal on its merits.
>
> Applied to people, lookism is a real and honestly kind of horrifying
> thing: humans who happen to be born with less symmetric faces get paid
> worse, receive worse health care, all kinds of unfair things. It
> wasn't too long ago that being sufficiently ugly in public was
> actually illegal in many places:
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ugly_law
>
> But even if we all agree that beautiful and ugly people should be
> treated equally, I don't see how it follows that beautiful and ugly
> buildings should be treated equally, or beautiful and ugly music
> should be treated equally, or beautiful and ugly code should be
> treated equally. The situations are totally different. Maybe there's
> some connection I'm missing, and if anyone (Samantha?) has links to
> deeper discussion then I'll happily take a look. But until then I'm
> totally comfortable with keeping the Zen as-is. (And I'm someone
> pretty far on the "SJW" side of the spectrum, and 100% in favor of
> Victor's original PR.)
>
> -n
>
> --
> Nathaniel J. Smith -- https://vorpus.org
> _______________________________________________
> Python-ideas mailing list
> Python-ideas@python.org
> https://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-ideas
> Code of Conduct: http://python.org/psf/codeofconduct/