On 8/17/20 1:26 PM, Chris Angelico wrote: > For context, see this commit: > > https://github.com/python/peps/commit/0c6427dcec1e98ca0bd46a876a7219ee4a9347f4 > > The commit message is highly politically charged and is now a > permanent part of the Python commit history. The Python Steering > Council has this to say: > > https://github.com/python/steering-council/issues/34#issuecomment-675028005 > > "The SC discussed this and ... we do not deplore the message." > > So now we know: go ahead and put all the political messages you like > into the commit messages, just don't put anything inappropriate into > the content. White supremacy has been mentioned; who wants to pick the > next hot topic? > > ChrisA > Just a few thoughts here ...
- While languages evolve over time, _in any given moment_ there are better and worse ways to express ideas in a given language. "The Elements Of Style" remains relevant today because it provides guidance on improving written clarity. It is not some blind defence of the perfect English. - Precision of language and precision of thought go hand in hand. Much of the grousing about languages standards (in this case, hiding in drag as social consciousness) is little more than intellectual laziness. In actual fact, our discipline has burned a lot of intellectual fuel in trying to find ways to be _more precise_ for things like specifications, formal semantics, and the like. - It is my consistent experience when working with non-native English speakers, that they wish to _improve_ their use and precision of the language, not simplify it. - Why is English the only target of these social pieties? You never hear these demands to relax these linguistic standards for, say, French, German, or Spanish. Similarly, where is the outcry to make Mandarin, Bantu, Swahili, or Arabic more approachable for Westerners? Methinks there is an ideological skunk in the parlor ... -- https://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list
