Re: jive - what is the message being sent here

[Dug Song <dugsong@monkey.org>]

On Tue, 14 Dec 1999, Sean P. McNamara wrote:

> Jive (from dictionary.com)
> 	Deceptive, nonsensical, or glib talk: "the sexist,
> 	locker-room jive of men boasting and bonding"
> 
> So the name in itself should not be offensive as it attributes nothing 
> to a specific gender, race or creed.

but the manpage does -

DOJIGGER
       JIBE - Convert honky talk text into Ebonics

and the manpage, at least, is honest about the program's agenda:

AUTHOR
       The Unknown Racist Hacker <president@whitehouse.gov>
       De Unknode Racist Hacka' <super-dude@honkyhouse.gov>

if the original author was too ashamed to stand up for a program which
promotes a racist agenda, why should we?

> since having software in the ports tree neither condones nor rebukes
> it's use...

it most certainly does, and there is real responsibility there.

if someone contributes a port of an ugly/lame (in whatever sense) program,
we have absolutely NO obligation to commit it to our tree and support it.
the decision to accept a program reflects upon not only the contributor,
but the project as a whole. or should we let people commit what they like?

> in addition to which the port was provided by a volunteer who felt
> that it is a desired component, I personally see no compelling reason
> to remove it from the ports tree.

as i see it, we have several good reasons to delete it, and only a
half-baked, excusatory justification in its defense.

-d.

---
http://www.monkey.org/~dugsong/