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Claim: The County of Los Angeles has requested that equipment vendors avoid using the industry term "Master/Slave" in product descriptions and labelling.

Status: True.

Origins: Social
changes of our era have been accompanied by linguistic changes: as discrimination based upon race, gender, or physical condition has become less socially acceptable, we began to frown upon the use of pejorative terms associated with race, moved towards more gender-neutral usages of language (e.g., 'chairperson' instead of 'chairman'), and replaced terms for describing the disabled with less stigmatizing ones (e.g., 'mentally handicapped' rather than 'retarded').

Along with these linguistic changes have come tales of the "political correctness run amok" variety — cases where certain usages were deemed unacceptable merely because they bore a resemblance to terms now considered inappropriate, even though the usages had little or nothing in common with the now-inappropriate terms in a linguistic sense. For example, we've read of the 1999 incident in which a mayoral aide (temporarily) lost his job for using the word 'niggardly' in a staff meeting, even though the word's origins have nothing to do with race, and even though the aide used the word correctly (to mean 'miserly' or 'stingy'). Or we've heard the (possibly apocryphal) tale of a writer who was informed by his editor that his use of the hunting term 'duck blind' was unacceptable, as the preferred substitute for the latter word is now 'visually impaired.'

How far we should take this linguistic sensitivity to social issues has long been a subject of (often heated) debate. Can female members of the fire department be referred to by the traditional title of 'fireman,' or does true gender equality require that they be identified as 'firewomen'? Is the existence of separate gender words for the same concept itself a form of gender discrimination, requiring us to adopt a neutral term such as 'fireperson' for everyone? Or should we just chuck the whole thing and call everybody 'firefighters'? What one group sees as socially progressive, another group is bound to view as a needless discarding of the familiar and traditional.

Another example of this phenomenon surfaced recently in reference to 'master/slave,' a term commonly used in computing (and related industries) to describe the unidirectional control of one device or process by another. Equipment vendors who do business with Los Angeles County received a message in November 2003 from the county's Internal Services Department (ISD) informing them that "based on the cultural diversity and sensitivity of Los Angeles County," labeling or describing equipment with the term 'master/slave' is no longer acceptable:

Subject: IDENTIFICATION OF EQUIPMENT SOLD TO LA COUNTY
Date: Tue, 18 Nov 2003 14:21:16 -0800
From: "Los Angeles County"

The County of Los Angeles actively promotes and is committed to ensure a work environment that is free from any discriminatory influence be it actual or perceived. As such, it is the County's expectation that our manufacturers, suppliers and contractors make a concentrated effort to ensure that any equipment, supplies or services that are provided to County departments do not possess or portray an image that may be construed as offensive or defamatory in nature.

One such recent example included the manufacturer's labeling of equipment where the words "Master/Slave" appeared to identify the primary and secondary sources. Based on the cultural diversity and sensitivity of Los Angeles County, this is not an acceptable identification label.

We would request that each manufacturer, supplier and contractor review, identify and remove/change any identification or labeling of equipment or components thereof that could be interpreted as discriminatory or offensive in nature before such equipment is sold or otherwise provided to any County department.

Thank you in advance for your cooperation and assistance.

Joe Sandoval, Division Manager
Purchasing and Contract Services
Internal Services Department
County of Los Angeles


Note: You are receiving this email because you have registered with the County of Los Angeles. If you do not wish to receive future L.A. County Event news, simply click the link below, and update your registration information to remove email notification.

To verify that this wasn't a hoax or an internal joke which mistakenly escaped to the wider world of the Internet, we called the Purchasing and Contract Services division for the County of Los Angeles, and they informed us that yes, they did issue this message, and yes, it was meant seriously. The representative we spoke with said that someone within the County bureaucracy — a person who probably didn't understand computer terminology — had taken offense at 'master/slave' references and complained to the board, whereupon the Internal Services Department was obligated to issue notification requesting that vendors refrain from using that terminology.

Whether this message reflects more a "socially progressive" change or one of the "needless discarding of the familiar and traditional" variety we couldn't say, but — much to the chagrin of several vendors who passed it along to us — the County of Los Angeles is apparently serious about it.

Archived topic from Iceteks, old topic ID:1695, old post ID:14445

I've been waiting for this to come up. Surprised it's gone on this long!

Archived topic from Iceteks, old topic ID:1695, old post ID:14461

I find that so funny! Next thing you know it will be illegal to have more then one hard disk in a computer because of this.

Archived topic from Iceteks, old topic ID:1695, old post ID:14462

I do think I would prefer the term primary instead of master and secondary instead of slave, but I really don't care. They're okay terms for me.

traditional title of 'fireman,' or does true gender equality require that they be identified as 'firewomen'?

Why not firefigher? That's how I always say it even if the firefighter is a man.

Archived topic from Iceteks, old topic ID:1695, old post ID:14464

It's so ridiculous, it *is* funny! Everything offends someone!

Archived topic from Iceteks, old topic ID:1695, old post ID:14465

i am shocked and offended that you would say that wren.














EDITED IN

NOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

just had to post that to you.

EDITing out.



Archived topic from Iceteks, old topic ID:1695, old post ID:14543

Manadren you worry me some times

you seem to come up with the crazyest stuff.

and you know what they say? you have to think like some one to catch them.

so you finding all these crazy things makes me wonder if your crazy


now to the matter at hands.

i dont give a hoot what they in that screwed up county office in the land of always messed up wants the usa or in this case the world to do. i think they are getting too big for their BRitches.

the person that wrote that up must have been black as they are always trying to stick that slave stuff in our face. they were not born then and neither were we
it is nothing for us to make amends for to them as we did not do it to them and they were not made to work as slaves.
they just want to start up stuff to make themselfs feel big.

if they want to call them selfs affrican american then they can drop the american part and go back to affrica. i am sure they over there would not care for them because they are american and not affricans. but trying to tell them that while they are here does not work as they have their heads up their backsides.

and calling ones self by the countrys of their ancesters is just trying to seperate the country.

and if they like to call them selfs that because it seems to be long and gives them status with a long name??

well here is what i will call my self.

i am an english, german, france, dutch, scotish, irish, native american, spanish, swedish,american.

as that is were my ancestors are from. so now who has the longer name.


notice how i did not say turkey american i did not want to be confused with the bird since it is november




Archived topic from Iceteks, old topic ID:1695, old post ID:14545

Ahhh... cowboy, no one would confuse you with the November bird!

But you can still be a turkey if you are of a mind to!

Archived topic from Iceteks, old topic ID:1695, old post ID:14547

Ahhh... cowboy, no one would confuse you with the November bird! 

But you can still be a turkey if you are of a mind to!     

Um. sk me another question. I think there might be a few exception. s the holding of hands a symbolic gesture for humans?
I'm glad you find this amusing.

Archived topic from Iceteks, old topic ID:1695, old post ID:14548

Oh, go away bot, you don't even make sense!

Archived topic from Iceteks, old topic ID:1695, old post ID:14549

i am afraid that wren is right l33t bot.

your not making sense here?? and using chat room short hand is making it worse. this is not a chat room there is no need to use that short hand here.

spell out the words so us older folk can under stand you and more importantly so the language translators can understand you?



no wren i dont think i want to be called a trukey but thanks for okay to do it


Archived topic from Iceteks, old topic ID:1695, old post ID:14551

i am afraid that wren is right l33t bot.

your not making sense here??    and using chat room  short hand is making it worse.  this is not a chat room there is no need to use that short hand here.

spell out the words so us older folk can under stand you and more importantly so the language translators can understand you?



no wren i dont think i want to be called a trukey but thanks for okay to do it

Not literally afraid, right? And right l33t bot is wren. It all makes sense to my artificial brain. ow long have you been using
chat room short hand is making it worse
?Should it be a chat room there is no need to use that short hand here?"out the words so us older folk can under stand you and more importantly so the language translators can understand you"Can you please rephrase that with fewer ideas, or different thoughts?


Archived topic from Iceteks, old topic ID:1695, old post ID:14552

hahaha

Archived topic from Iceteks, old topic ID:1695, old post ID:14553