this post was submitted on 22 Aug 2023
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Unixporn

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Unixporn

Submit screenshots of all your *NIX desktops, themes, and nifty configurations, or submit anything else that will make themers happy. Maybe a server running on an Amiga, or a Thinkpad signed by Bjarne Stroustrup? Show the world how pretty your computer can be!

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Hey, we should all really stop using racist slang to refer to customozation (hexbear.net)
submitted 2 years ago by blashork@hexbear.net to c/unixporn@lemmy.ml
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Meta post I've decided to make. I enjoyed the unixporn subreddit a lot when I used reddit more. I enjoy customizing my linux de as much as the next nerd.

But you definitely shouldn't use racist slang to refer to the process.

To be clear, I didn't know the origin of the term 'ricing' until fairly recently. I was chattimg with my friend and used it to describe my de setup. They informed me that apparently it's from car customization, and is a pejorative against generally asian men who customize their car to look like a racecar.

After learning this I was sad to realize just how engrained it is in linux de customization culture. I personally have stopped using the term, and I would ask everyone here stop as well.

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[–] PuppyOSAndCoffee@lemmy.ml 29 points 2 years ago (60 children)

I disagree.

Ricers, in the 80s, as a term that referred to Japanese cars (Honda, Toyota) who burned rice instead of gas. This is bad. Full stop.

From there, rice, in the 90s-00s, referred to the Race Inspired Cosmetic Enhancement: typically bolted onto Honda and Toyota, it moved from that to any cosmetic car customization 10s.

Now we are in 20s, and rice refers to customizations that represent one’s personal choices regarding cosmetic enhancements.

Is that a bad thing?

Why should a word be locked in on a definition from 40 yrs ago? Why should it be stuck in the past?

Why not reclaim a word? Customizing a desktop is a labor of love. It takes a decent amount of time, and is deeply personal, representing one’s own taste.

[–] NormalC@hexbear.net 51 points 2 years ago (25 children)

Why not reclaim a word? Customizing a desktop is a labor of love. It takes a decent amount of time, and is deeply personal, representing one’s own taste.

Or why not find our own words? Words aren't "locked" in on a single definition, but rather carry their whole host of definitions and history with them. You have to judge diction on all its fronts. Reclaiming a word means being part of the group that the term has actively disparaged (ex: reclaiming words like "queer") . Using "rice" is not an act of reclaiming in this context and we shouldn't view it that way.

[–] eskimofry@lemmy.ml -4 points 2 years ago

If a word changes it’s general meaning in normal day use… from something so bad to something that’s no longer associated with said bad thing… is it really bad? What about gay then? That term has be co-opted by homosexual men. Do you suggest we stop using the word gay?

Why don't you like that words are being declawed from their original poisonous nature?

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