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Re: Some more thoughts about language and what to do next

Rob Sayre <sayrer@gmail.com> Thu, 30 July 2020 21:42 UTC

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From: Rob Sayre <sayrer@gmail.com>
Date: Thu, 30 Jul 2020 14:42:39 -0700
Message-ID: <CAChr6SyGTJUh3mrrsCauk8SEcin0inYCmOKTzgJzeuMLyUvKXg@mail.gmail.com>
Subject: Re: Some more thoughts about language and what to do next
To: Bron Gondwana <brong@fastmailteam.com>
Cc: Eliot Lear <lear@cisco.com>, "Vinton G. Cerf" <vint@google.com>, The IETF List <ietf@ietf.org>
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On Thu, Jul 30, 2020 at 3:56 AM Bron Gondwana <brong@fastmailteam.com>
wrote:

>
> Most of all, I think it's a mistake for either "side" to catastrophise the
> choices ahead of them - and it would be a mistake to allow the IETF to be
> made a "front" in anybody's attempt to use power to force "consensus" on
> society faster than it is naturally evolving.  It takes a long time to move
> public opinion on things.
>

Yes, I think the way some people feel about "y'all" and "folks" is that
they're cloying--particularly if it seems like the speaker/writer doesn't
use those words most of the time. That doesn't make them incorrect or
offensive, but it's something to watch out for. That said, it is possible
to use contractions in a derogatory way, especially in quotations.

Perhaps a thesaurus is what's called for. No words are banned, but there is
a list of alternatives...

thanks,
Rob

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