this post was submitted on 22 Aug 2023
110 points (63.3% liked)

Unixporn

15443 readers
5 users here now

Unixporn

Submit screenshots of all your *NIX desktops, themes, and nifty configurations, or submit anything else that will make themers happy. Maybe a server running on an Amiga, or a Thinkpad signed by Bjarne Stroustrup? Show the world how pretty your computer can be!

Rules

  1. Post On-Topic
  2. No Defaults
  3. Busy Screenshots
  4. Use High-Quality Images
  5. Include a Details Comment
  6. No NSFW
  7. No Racism or use of racist terms

founded 5 years ago
MODERATORS
 

Meta post I've decided to make. I enjoyed the unixporn subreddit a lot when I used reddit more. I enjoy customizing my linux de as much as the next nerd.

But you definitely shouldn't use racist slang to refer to the process.

To be clear, I didn't know the origin of the term 'ricing' until fairly recently. I was chattimg with my friend and used it to describe my de setup. They informed me that apparently it's from car customization, and is a pejorative against generally asian men who customize their car to look like a racecar.

After learning this I was sad to realize just how engrained it is in linux de customization culture. I personally have stopped using the term, and I would ask everyone here stop as well.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] dragonborn@lemm.ee 9 points 1 year ago (3 children)

It has a new meaning now. No one cares and few would bother looking up where it comes from. Languages are dynamic and change all the time. The word faggot meant a stick of wood but now it means something else and few would use it to refer to someone else. This doesn't mean we should change literature that was written before this change. tl;dr: the meaning has changed and no one cares.

[–] NormalC@hexbear.net 12 points 1 year ago

tl;dr: the meaning has changed and no one cares.

Nobody is asking to change "literature" all were asking is that we develop new and better terminology for this niche that doesn't also come with racist baggage.

The word removed meant a stick of wood but now it means something else and few would use it to refer to someone else

Ooo can you tell the class what that word means now? And what it's used for? Your example falls flat because this situation and the historical pattern you're referring to aren't as comparable as you think they are.

PSA: racists love words with multiple meanings because it gives them plausible deniability. This is happening right now in this thread. Changing the word "rice" would deal a huge blow to racists as it would show that the unixporn comm will not be beholden to the status quo.

[–] Solemn@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 1 year ago

The word has not changed that much in common use (as far as it gets common at all). Ricing your car still has derogatory undertones, and even if you aren't aware, it still has racist undertones as well if you think about it at all. Just because you aren't aware if it doesn't mean the affected people aren't. If you said ricing in this context around me, I'd assume you're ignorant at best, and deliberately racist and trying to offend me at worst