Hi all
On 24 Jul 2020, at 20:11, Viktor Dukhovni wrote:
And we also know that language policing can be an oppressive and
exclusionary tool, and a great deal of caution and discretion is
required to avoid that outcome.
I fully agree.
A sobering read.
Language control has been for ages a preferred tool for societal/thought control. Just go over a bit of history and make a list of different organizations that tried to control language.
Without even googling:
- The Catholic Church during the Middle Ages
- Every fascist government in the first half of the 20th century
- Every military dictatorship during most of the 20th century
- Quite a few regimes currently in power. No need to name them, they are known to all
Language control creates a very powerful control tool that if it were to fall on the wrong hands. Even things created with the best intentions can do incredible harm if suddenly the wrong set of people are in charge.
As someone who grew up in a military dictatorship I have first hand experience on this. An uncle of mine spent a week in jail in 1974 just for uttering the word “communist” on the street. A word that had been banned.
The IETF has a lot of work to do in order to ensure an inclusive, open minded and welcoming environment, one that will lead to more and better technology being developed within its framework. Language control is not something that will help, and could be dangerous in the future.
/Carlos
