Political correctness in the workplace

Ardent · 24-06-2020 06:25PM #1

I work for an IT multinational. Today, after having spoken about IP whitelists and blacklists, I was politely informed by a colleague that I shouldn't use that terminology as it has racial connotations.

Sure enough, looking at our handbook, we have a list of terms we are discouraged from using, e.g., "rule of thumb" (violent implications). I know one fella here even got pulled aside for saying that customer support folks are the "shepherds" of the customer experience.

Anyone else experiencing this madness where they work?

Arghus · 24-06-2020 06:29PM

I don't believe you OP.

callmehal · 24-06-2020 06:29PM

Are you just making this up? I don't believe a word. Your tall tales don't fool me. You don't work in IT.

One eyed Jack · 24-06-2020 06:30PM

Ardent wrote: »

Anyone else experiencing this madness where they work?

No, thank fcuk :pac:

The worst I get is people saying they’ll ‘ping’ me, incredibly annoying, but I’d feel silly making anything of it.

gmisk · 24-06-2020 06:30PM

Ardent wrote: »

I work for an IT multinational. Today, after having spoken about IP whitelists and blacklists, I was politely informed by a colleague that I shouldn't use that terminology as it has racial connotations.

Sure enough, looking at our handbook, we have a list of terms we are discouraged from using, e.g., "rule of thumb" (violent implications). I know one fella here even got pulled aside for saying that customer support folks are the "shepherds" of the customer experience.

Anyone else experiencing this madness where they work?

Er that is bizarre imo
The rule of thumb one is especially mad...
This can't be real?
I work in IT and people use these terms all the time. I would think the CS would likely to be more PC if anything than a private company.

Collie D · 24-06-2020 06:31PM

Ardent wrote: »

I work for an IT multinational. Today, after having spoken about IP whitelists and blacklists, I was politely informed by a colleague that I shouldn't use that terminology as it has racial connotations.

Sure enough, looking at our handbook, we have a list of terms we are discouraged from using, e.g., "rule of thumb" (violent implications). I know one fella here even got pulled aside for saying that customer support folks are the "shepherds" of the customer experience.

Anyone else experiencing this madness where they work?

I’d have taken great pleasure in firing that ****.

Ardent · 24-06-2020 06:34PM

Arghus wrote: »

I don't believe you OP.

callmehal wrote:

Are you just making this up? I don't believe a word. Your tall tales don't fool me. You don't work in IT.

Guys, I am not joking. This is real.

In fact, "guys" is highly discouraged as well, as it's not inclusive language.

John Hutton · 24-06-2020 06:35PM

Used to sell health insurance and would spend my days listening to nice auld ones telling me about their medical misadventures.

Got reamed out of it by a manager for saying "thank God" during these conversations.

Don't work in call centres kids

corner of hells · 24-06-2020 06:35PM

Ardent wrote: »

I work for an IT multinational. Today, after having spoken about IP whitelists and blacklists, I was politely informed by a colleague that I shouldn't use that terminology as it has racial connotations.

Sure enough, looking at our handbook, we have a list of terms we are discouraged from using, e.g., "rule of thumb" (violent implications). I know one fella here even got pulled aside for saying that customer support folks are the "shepherds" of the customer experience.

Anyone else experiencing this madness where they work?

Ya , you can no longer have "manholes" marked on drawings , you can only have "person holes " , dont even mention "women holes".

IamMetaldave · 24-06-2020 06:37PM

Ardent wrote: »

I work for an IT multinational. Today, after having spoken about IP whitelists and blacklists,

This fella was looking into alternatives 8 years ago...

and another person on the forum makes this point -

There is no evidence that I have seen that deems the term 'Blacklist' to be offensive; in fact it is valid computer terminology. Being blacklisted is a negative term, but that is the point of the word: Black and White are contrasting.

If you need other terms then it's easy to go with 'Blocked List' but then you're left with the opposing side being an 'allowed-list' which isn't as cognitively associated with 'Blocked' as 'Black' is with 'White'.

There are no racist connotations here unless you are wanting to find one; just as there is no racist connotations to being 'Blackballed', or having a 'Black book'.

For some extra reference: Black and White are also used in a software testing capacity - black-box testing and white-box testing and these are perfectly acceptable and non-offensive terms.

CageWager · 24-06-2020 06:44PM

Wait till the Google and Facebook offices reopen. They’ll force everyone to take a knee before every meeting. Having said that, I’m sure they’ll make an exception for any men or women who may be pregnant or menstruating. Fair is fair.

24-06-2020 06:46PM

It's a thing

Ardent · 24-06-2020 06:51PM

Collie D wrote: »

I’d have taken great pleasure in firing that ****.

Wow, when did we get so thin-skinned about a turn of phrase that's been used for hundreds of years?

is_that_so · 24-06-2020 06:56PM

Deleted User wrote: »

It's a thing

And it started out as such an innocent word. For such an august organisation that's pretty stupid but these are the times.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blacklisting

SeanW · 24-06-2020 06:56PM

The whitelist/blacklist thing is true, GitHub just discouraged the terms on its platform, along with Master and Slave. That last one might be a problem for anyone doing anything with Parallel ATA, a.ka. IDE disk drives, but fortunately those have not been used in new systems for over a decade.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umw-YxJAdoM&t=516s

sameoldname · 24-06-2020 07:06PM

Are accountants going to have to stop using "In the black/In the red"? "Logic" would dictate that it casts Native Americans in a bad light compared to people of African decent...

...Apparently.

TuringBot47 · 24-06-2020 07:07PM

Ardent wrote: »

I work for an IT multinational. Today, after having spoken about IP whitelists and blacklists, I was politely informed by a colleague that I shouldn't use that terminology as it has racial connotations.

Yep, about a decade ago we were asked to avoid using the term "blacklist" in a product feature. Think we actually used "blocklist" instead.

Randle P. McMurphy · 24-06-2020 07:07PM

I can't figure out what's wrong or offensive about 'rule of thumb' or 'shepherds' Maybe somebody could enlighten me.

Collie D · 24-06-2020 07:13PM

Ardent wrote: »

Wow, when did we get so thin-skinned about a turn of phrase that's been used for hundreds of years?

“Shepherds of the customer experience” is not hundreds of years old. I’m happy to be corrected but that’s definitely corporate bollocks you hear in meetings usually spouted by someone with nothing useful to add.

Ardent · 24-06-2020 07:26PM

Randle P. McMurphy wrote: »

I can't figure out what's wrong or offensive about 'rule of thumb' or 'shepherds' Maybe somebody could enlighten me.

Shepherd is gender specific. We prefer gender neutral language.

The 'rule of thumb' has been said to derive from the belief that English law allowed a man to beat his wife with a stick so long as it is was no thicker than his thumb.

Kaybaykwah · 24-06-2020 07:34PM

Ardent wrote: »

Shepherd is gender specific. We prefer gender neutral language.

The 'rule of thumb' has been said to derive from the belief that English law allowed a man to beat his wife with a stick so long as it is was no thicker than his thumb.

The expression "Customer experience" is vomit inducing. A female employee would be called "shepherdess", and that in itself is something to trip over in a Little-Bo-Peep kind of way. Just disregard my use of Peep. Jeez.

Randle P. McMurphy · 24-06-2020 07:37PM

Ardent wrote: »

Shepherd is gender specific. We prefer gender neutral language.

The 'rule of thumb' has been said to derive from the belief that English law allowed a man to beat his wife with a stick so long as it is was no thicker than his thumb.

I don't know whether to laugh or cry.

PsychoPete · 24-06-2020 07:39PM

No political correctness at my workplace, we all know to leave our feelings at home

jackboy · 24-06-2020 07:40PM

Ardent wrote: »

Shepherd is gender specific. We prefer gender neutral language.

Sheep herder may be more appropriate.

Yester · 24-06-2020 07:42PM

Kaybaykwah wrote: »

The expression "Customer experience" is vomit inducing. A female employee would be called "shepherdess", and that in itself is something to trip over in a Little-Bo-Peep kind of way. Just disregard my use of Peep. Jeez.

You can't say "little" anymore. It's just "Bo" now.

MrMusician18 · 24-06-2020 07:47PM

corner of hells wrote: »

Ya , you can no longer have "manholes" marked on drawings , you can only have "person holes " , dont even mention "women holes".

Nah, not true in Ireland at least. You might get the odd person call them a chamber but that generally refers to the smaller plastic ones, for drains anyway.

Power and comms lines are accessed through service pits and chambers, not manholes.

Kaybaykwah · 24-06-2020 08:01PM

Yester wrote: »

You can't say "little" anymore. It's just "Bo" now.

Lol. I suppose Bo is also construed as a sexist term related to Beau. Belle would make it seem like a White privilege term relative to its connoted meaning of Southern Belle. Welcome to Looney Tunes, Folks!

angel eyes 2012 · 24-06-2020 08:06PM

One of the senior directors in my workplace, an absolute gentleman, was introducing two female managers who are responsible for training, to new staff as part of induction training. He introduced them as "these two girls beside me are Mary and Jane..."

One of the new staff members interrupts him and told him he can't call them that, they are women, not girls. He was absolutely taken aback and mortified and so were the two women beside him.

Ardent · 24-06-2020 08:14PM

angel eyes 2012 wrote: »

One of the senior directors in my workplace, an absolute gentleman, was introducing two female managers who are responsible for training, to new staff as part of induction training. He introduced them as "these two girls beside me are Mary and Jane..."

One of the new staff members interrupts him and told him he can't call them that, they are women, not girls. He was absolutely taken aback and mortified and so were the two women beside him.

I can understand why someone might take issue with what he said. But don't be such a douchebag putting him on the spot like that. This is the problem with the perpetually offended - they have to be assholes about it.

Mrs OBumble · 24-06-2020 08:16PM

It's not political correctness: PC really just means plain courtesy.

Black/white anyghing should be gone years ago. Among other things, some cultures associate different connotations with white, so it actually hinders business communication.

Ditto kill lists and master / slave anythings.

It really is time for you to move into the 21st century.

Gruffalux · 24-06-2020 08:17PM

It has not infiltrated where I work, thank goodness, but then we are all jaded old misanthropes who use cursing and banter and merciless jibing at each other to help us plough on everyday through the mountain. Behind all the shocking lack of political correctness we are good to each other and have a laugh. Long may it last.

Political correctness in the workplace

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