Re: [Gendispatch] Diversity and Inclusiveness in the IETF

[Keith Moore <[e-mail]>]

On 2/24/21 12:47 PM, Vittorio Bertola wrote:

> As a result, I am feeling like I should just stop participating in 
> these discussions for fear of using the wrong choice of language and 
> getting publicly shamed (and in my own culture, like in the Far East, 
> in Arab cultures and elsewhere, "saving your face" in public is 
> paramount). So, ironically, language correctness leads to 
> self-censorship and exclusion. 

Excellent point.

Please, people, we have participants from all over the world speaking a 
wide variety of languages.   Let's not publicly rebuke people for 
choosing a word that might have not quite the right shade of meaning, or 
might not be the perfect choice from someone else's perspective.   
Especially given that these shades of meaning can vary from one place to 
another even among native English speakers.  If we can tell what the 
speaker intended, that should be sufficient.   And public rebuke of 
language distracts from the main discussion.   If it's really important 
to try to correct someone, a polite, private note is probably better.

And contributors will generally adjust the words they use over time 
based on observation of others' writing and subtle feedback.   That's 
how people quite naturally become more fluent.

Keith

(FWIW I thought "coder" was fine.)