the new gnu parallel release name does not just have a rape joke in it, it's literally the name of a racist report by one far-right UK MP calling non-whites rapists.

[chaoddity@mastodon.social]

@davidgerard what is "gnu parallels". I know what gnu is. Dont know what this is tho.

[claudi@darmstadt.social]

@davidgerard While I think you’re absolutely right in calling this out, they have named releases Manning, Floyd and Friday for Future, too. Which one might count against the extremism/dog whistling theory. I’d assume good faith and tone deafness.

[aral@mastodon.ar.al]

@davidgerard @usernameswift @ajn142 Bloody hell.

[esoteric_programmer@social.stealthy.club]

@aral @davidgerard @usernameswift @ajn142 what the hell? really horrible thing to wake up to today

[svuorela@helvede.net]

@froztbyte @davidgerard @aral @usernameswift @ajn142 @fasterandworse

He is @prosaole here. He works for 'Prosa' - one of the bigger IT-specific employee unions in Denmark and has done for like more than a decade.

It is 15years since I worked with him, but maybe he changed over the years; I'm at least a bit surprised. I also think it is a decade since I last met him.

also: https://fsfe.org/news/2012/news-20121112-01

[aral@mastodon.ar.al]

@svuorela @froztbyte @davidgerard @usernameswift @ajn142 @fasterandworse So, @prosaole, what the fuck, dude?

[dzwiedziu@mastodon.social]

@davidgerard
GNU Nazis Use

[jschwart@mas.to]

@davidgerard I initially thought it would be something similar to the Epstein files, so shocked to learn this is actually from nazis. I asked about it on the FSF member forum.
It certainly seems against the GNU Kind Communication Guidelines.

[qesuto@infosec.exchange]

@davidgerard WTF. Who the hell thought this could be even vaguely appropriate? Also, when K8S 1.30 was released codename "uwubernetes" there was a public uproar, while I found about this from your post...

[froztbyte@mastodon.social]

@svuorela ah ty, I read their about page and seem to have parsed the org the wrong way

[tange@social.data.coop]

@aral @svuorela @davidgerard @prosaole

Did you read https://www.gnu.org/software/parallel/20th-birthday.html

> Each version also carries a code name. The name is inspired by current events. https://savannah.gnu.org/news/?group=parallel

The list includes Mamdani, Støjberg, Al-Aqsa Deluge, Arrest Warrant, Aylan Kurdi, Friday for Future, Boko Haram, Bataclan, Roe vs Wade.

In other words, events that received international attention that month, without me taking a position on them.

I believe this month's name also lives up to that standard.

[raphaelmorgan@disabled.social]

@davidgerard just because it's mainstream doesn't mean it can't be based in white supremacy (especially in situations like this where an obvious white supremacist was involved). White supremacy is about as mainstream as it gets

[lunadragofelis@void.lgbt]

@davidgerard @zzt damn, I googled* lemonparty…

* = using a non Google search engine though

[jschwart@mas.to]

@tange @aral @svuorela @davidgerard @prosaole in general it is quite commendable to remind people of events/people outside of the IT sphere that should not be neglected/forgotten and deserve attention. I looked over several names and I think they do fit that purpose as one can easily figure out the context and truth behind them.

In this case however, it is not easy to figure out what is behind the name and my initial searches let to the report itself and did not provide the right context. As others mentioned it can also be seen as a nazi dog-whistle.

We should pay attention to white-supremacy and all the horrible things coming from there, but that does require context such that people understand what is going on. In this case I think the risk is big that someone will find this report itself and not understand its origin and purpose. It would be right to find a way to address this. Misinformation such as this report and nazism are very dangerous and should not be underestimated.

[davidgerard@circumstances.run]

@tange @aral @svuorela @prosaole and yet, out of all the month's events, you chose the nazi dog whistle

[csepp@merveilles.town]

@eldersea @zzt @davidgerard Almost certainly decades at this point.

[ckiyme@autonomous.zone]

@davidgerard I mean, don't they sell your data and one of them has a huge security breach not long ago?

[tange@social.data.coop]

@davidgerard The report was the event that was most prominent in my feed. Just like Boko Haram, Samuel Paty, Al-Aqsa Deluge, Gold Apollo AR924, Mærsk, Mamdani all were in earlier months.

I think it is clear that no sane person can simultaneously endorse all these events.

Thus it is clear that the name is not an endorsement but just a name. Nothing more.

I respect you may have a different opinion. And if it a deal breaker to you there are more than 50 alternatives here: https://www.gnu.org/software/parallel/parallel_alternatives.html

[tange@social.data.coop]

@jschwart

> in general it is quite commendable to remind people of events/people outside of the IT sphere that should not be neglected/forgotten and deserve attention.

But that is not the goal. You are reading a political statement into something that is just a name.

Instead you should more see it as a proxy for the date: "What was the big unpredictable thing that happened this month?" Think Wikipedia's NPOV.

[jschwart@mas.to]

@tange I see. Thank you for replying. Maybe it would be an idea to review the GNU Kind Communication Guidelines. Imagine that you are a person who is a victim of an event that is used as a release name or possibly you are a close relative of a victim and you are bringing up your own GNU system. At some point you run into GNU Parallel. What thoughts might someone have at such a moment. And what if more packages would adopt a naming style like this.

We live in an era with extreme news events, so much that we may become numb to headlines. At the same time there are still human beings behind these events who may end up using your software. It seems best to find ways to make it as comfortable for them as possible. As such if it is not commemoration, the risk is that it may be confrontational, triggering negative emotions. That would be unfortunate and I believe something you may not want either.