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Michael Larabel over at Phoronix brings us news of a stealth Social Justice coup over at FreeDesktop.org:
X.Org, GStreamer, Wayland, LibreOffice, Mesa, VA-API, Harfbuzz, and SPICE are among the many projects hosted by FreeDesktop.org that now appear to be on a contributor covenant / code of conduct.
The Contributor Covenant for those unfamiliar with it is trying to promote a code of conduct for open-source projects that is trying to promote diversity and equality of contributors to libre software projects. From the covenant's website, "Part of this problem [of "free, libre, and open source projects suffer from a startling lack of diversity, with dramatically low representation by women, people of color, and other marginalized populations"] lies with the very structure of some projects: the use of insensitive language, thoughtless use of pronouns, assumptions of gender, and even sexualized or culturally insensitive names."
The covenant states in part that those contributing should use welcoming and inclusive language, be respectful to others, showing empathy towards others, avoid insulting comments, and avoid inappropriate conduct. For the most part, it's basically common sense.
Now it seems this Contributor Covenant is being forced onto all FreeDesktop.org-hosted projects.
(Score: 2) by driverless on Monday April 10 2017, @12:01PM (5 children)
Yeah - seamsters of the world unite and fight the oppression!
Well it's nice to see that there's some diversity there, I'd be more interested in the services of the seamstresses guild but it's good of you to identify yourself as a member of the male side of the profession for those so inclined.
(Score: 2) by hendrikboom on Monday April 10 2017, @01:47PM (4 children)
Funny about that word seamster. '-ster' is itself a feminine suffix from an older version of English. Don't know what the original word was. 'Seamer', maybe. 'Seamster' is one of those words that has had a feminine suffix added on twice in the development of English.
So my brother once told me.
Looking it up online, the wiktionary entry traces 'seamstress' back to 'seamster'. But looking up the suffix '-ster' I find in Dutch, which is a Germanic language like the ones English is descended from, -ster is a feminine suffix corresponding to the masculine 'er'.as a suffix. Perhaps there is something similar in Old English? Anyone know any native Old English speakers?
My brother attributed this to two waves of men taking over traditional women's professions in times of economic dislocation and the women being forced to distinguiish themselves with an extra suffix.
-- hendrik
(Score: -1, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 10 2017, @02:17PM (1 child)
I'm sure that'll trigger a regressive somewhere. It's almost as if human languages themselves are gendered like the species that developed them. Not that it'll matter when all communication is censored lest some delicate little snowflake take offence.
(Score: 2) by hendrikboom on Monday April 10 2017, @05:53PM
The Dutch language has two genders:
(1) Masculine or feminine
(2) Neuter.
Well, there are masculine and feminine personal pronouns, but those are used when speaking of obviously gendered things, such as people.
The noun 'meisje', which means 'girl' or 'little girl', has neuter gender. But if you refer to a girl using a pronoun, you use a feminine pronoun.
Many languages have gender built into them. But they don't clearly map onto two sexes.
I'm told there's an Australian language with eight genders.
-- hendrik
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 10 2017, @03:29PM
What does this tell us about banksters? Gangsters?
(Score: 2) by FatPhil on Tuesday April 11 2017, @08:56AM
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=-ster
"""
Old English -istre, from Proto-Germanic *-istrijon, feminine agent suffix used as the equivalent of masculine -ere (see -er (1)). Also used in Middle English to form nouns of action (meaning "a person who ...") without regard for gender.
The genderless agent noun use apparently was a broader application of the original feminine suffix, beginning in the north of England, but linguists disagree over whether this indicates female domination of weaving and baking trades, as represented in surnames such as Webster, Baxter, Brewster, etc. (though spinster probably carries an originally female ending). Also whitester "one who bleaches cloth;" kempster (c. 1400; Halliwell has it as kembster) "woman who cleans wool." In Modern English, the suffix has been productive in forming derivative nouns (gamester, punster, etc.).
"""
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