When Software Offends 467
ndogg writes "The open source Python projects Pantyshot and Upskirt have caused quite a stir within the Python community, and catalyzed the leaving of one of their developers (a woman whose native language is not English.) The original developer, Frank Smit, has renamed Pantyshot to Misaka, but that too has suspect etymology, as Violet Blue points out."
Well.. (Score:4, Insightful)
That's the beautiful thing about freedom, you're free not to use media or software that offends you...
There's plenty of bigots and assholes out there. If you feel it's worth the fight, be my guest. I'm gonna go with the second choice, which is ignoring it. They'll both have the same end result, anyway...
Re:People need to get out more (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:People need to get out more (Score:4, Insightful)
On the flip side, perhaps you ought to be offended, but have been too desensitized.
All they're doing is limiting the usefulness (Score:5, Insightful)
Would anyone working for/at a real-world business ever use any of that software? I highly doubt that anything that can bring about a sexual harassment suit just from publishing its documentation is worth even a penny.
Re:People need to get out more (Score:2, Insightful)
Really, if you're naming things Up Skirt or Panty Shot you need to crawl out from under that rock and get out more.
How about "when software is named by assholes" (Score:5, Insightful)
I love how this is all framed as people being "offended," so that everyone can say "Ooh, look at the little baby, so offended by harsh language." When actually the issue is that the names for these (non-panty-related) software has been picked out by dudes who apparently think that it's hilarious to take pictures up women's skirts without their consent (which is what everyone knows "upskirt" and "pantyshot" mean, on the internet). You don't need to be a native speaker of English to know what they think of women.
Re:People need to get out more (Score:5, Insightful)
No. I'm sorry. No. Theres a difference between having fun with software names and this. It is incredibly misogynistic, and it is perfectly reasonable to be offended by it. The name refers to a non-consensual sexual intrusion, something you might consider light rape.
There's a big difference between this and something adolescent and immaturely sexual, but not horribly offensive like, oh, 'booblib'.
Re:Software does not offend (Score:2, Insightful)
Or, you know, male programmers, who by far outnumber females, can show some common sense and decency by not driving away the minority of females in this profession? Why would women want to get involved with FOSS with guys who act like they are still living in their parents basement and have all the maturity of an 18 year old.
Seriously, some people need to stop living up to the stereotype of programmers as being socially maladjusted neuro-atypical douchebags.
Re:People need to get out more (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:People need to get out more (Score:1, Insightful)
Do what now? How do you go from seeing underwear potentially accidentally to *rape*?!
There is something *seriously* wrong here, but I'm pretty sure it's with you, not the name of the software.
Re:FCK Editor, anyone? (Score:4, Insightful)
Easiest way to avoid a slippery slope is to build a fence. Establish guidelines, enforce them, and suddenly your slippery slope becomes quite navigable.
Re:People need to get out more (Score:4, Insightful)
People will use all kinds of reasons to justify their behaviour. I imagine this name would make all kinds of people want to try out the software as well. Do you think the main purpose of the open source community is to provide tools for megacorporations?
I don't see how this naming would make anyone want to try out this software. But what it would do is make it difficult for a person in a business environment to search for and access this package, especially those with strict internet filtering.
Re:People need to get out more (Score:5, Insightful)
There's a difference between Puritanistic horror at anything sexual and being offended by naming a software program after an act of non-consensual peeping.
Re:People need to get out more (Score:2, Insightful)
Oh I think people are way too ready to be offended by anything and everything these days.
The name refers to a non-consensual sexual intrusion, something you might consider light rape.
You think an upskirt (which are usually staged) is akin to rape? Wow.
Re:People need to get out more (Score:5, Insightful)
It might be hypocritical, but we're not here to be the arbiters of social norms. We're here to write code.
Naming stuff to be kitschy or to offend other people is childish. You don't have an obligation to anyone to name your software any particular way, but if you behave like a child, you shouldn't be too surprised when adults get offended. If your goal is to write code that gets used, you should pretend to be an adult--at least while you're naming it.
If you make a useful library and intentionally give it a disgusting name, you're a psychological sadist. You don't care what other people think, you just enjoy knowing they squirm every time they have to deal with your library. Grow up. Get a little empathy.
Re:Well.. (Score:5, Insightful)
If your goal is to build a community to develop software, doing things which drive people from the community tend to be counterproductive. If, in the alternative, your goal is to establish a community for the purpose of being antisocial jerks, then doing things which drive people who don't like antisocial jerks from the community would be worthwhile, I suppose.
I had thought the goal of this Python community had more to do with the former than the latter, but I could be wrong.
Re:People need to get out more (Score:3, Insightful)
The something wrong is your understanding of words like "consensual", "accidental", "intentional", and "illegal".
Re:Well.. (Score:5, Insightful)
And the managers are free not to allow a package with an offensive name in. Look, (non-government) censorship isn't always bad. We self-censor ourselves everyday. That’s part of living in a society. What if the package was called Childr@per or nigg3r? Should those be included? No. Is that censorship? You bet!
.The only question is, does this cross the line? I say this is the kind of behavior that keeps women excluded from geek culture. But just calling it "censorship" isn't a valid reason to enforce non-offensive package names.. I mean, come on.
Now, some people take offense at every little thing. Some people are very thick skinned.
FUD. Bullshit. (Score:1, Insightful)
This is simply a crazy misinformed post by an idiot.
Smit re-named Pantyshot/Upskirt after a Japanese name. Not just any name, but popularly belonging to an Anime (adult comics) character
Anime is NOT adult comics. Anime is simply Japanese animation. Anime are moving pictures. Comics are the things that don't normally move and often printed on dead trees.
There's nothing "adult" to anime just like there's nothing "adult" to videos.
There's nothing "adult" to the character either. The character certainly does have strong "upskirt" and "pantyshot" references, but honestly it's not much of a "pantyshot" than a "boxershot", a running gag when the character's friend(s?) pull a prank on her by an upskirt and disappointingly realizes she wears "boxers" instead of sexy panties.
FYI, this is the typical "upskirt" in that "adult anime" we're talking about: http://25.media.tumblr.com/eO5rDDFIRmiprfxkBtraxpq6o1_500.jpg [tumblr.com]
You may say this is offensive, I understand people get offended over many things. But it's simply wrong and FUD to claim that this character has any "adult" connotations.
Like Momoko, who could be Momoko the Japanese porn star (AV Idol)
I do watch Japanese porn regularly (sorry) , and I've never heard of anybody half famous that goes with the name Momoko. A quick google indicates that a "Momoko Tani" is a "Japanese Idol" that wears suggestive clothings (usually scanty swimsuits/bikinis), but not anything that you could call "porn".
Search for Misaka and upskirt, and you'll get a Chilling Effects message from Google about the removal of alleged child porn from their search results.
Just donâ(TM)t âoeinterpretâ Momoko along with the term upskirt on Google or you'll get the same Chilling Effects child pornography warning.
Perhaps it's not the weird Japanese names that's causing Google to give you all those Chilling Effects, but maybe "upskirt"? I've turned off any "safe filters" in Google, and probably my jurisdiction is less anal about child porn (but I haven't seen any of child porn in those searches), so I can't check whether "Jessica upskirt" (or whatever) gives you the same warning, but I suspect it would.
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I don't disagree that there are better choices of names than "upskirt" and "pantyshot", but seriously there's really no need to spread FUD and lies.
The misinformation above may be lies, or they may be misunderstandings by the author of TFA. If really the latter, she really has no standing writing this piece of misinformed piece of crap.
Re:Well.. (Score:5, Insightful)
No, one barely risque project name is not indicative of being a community of antisocial jerks. Tricking a non-English-speaking woman into naming her project something demeaning to women in general, then responding, "Eh, she's too thin-skinned," when she realizes what's happened and leaves the community; that is indicative of being a community of antisocial jerks. Being asked to name your project something less offensive than "Project Pantyshot", and naming it after what is apparently a child famous for pantyshots; that is indicative of being an antisocial jerk.
This is not about women's underwear. This is about having a level of basic human empathy, and realizing that because you can do something doesn't mean that you should.
Time to rename the GNU Image Manipulation Program? (Score:4, Insightful)