-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- In <6B5344C210C7D011835C0000F8012766020BB4B0@exna01.securitydynamics.com>, on 08/26/98 at 02:27 PM, "Francis, Catherine" <cfrancis@securitydynamics.com> said:

I worry that, in the process of laying all this flame-bait, y'all are hoping that naive people might think that a job where there's racial and sexual hate-speech isn't a hostile work environment. Putting this sort of language in code does not shelter it from co-workers.

1: In a free and open society one should be able to debate and analyze any topic of their choosing, even your precious PC dogma. Rather than debate the issues at hand you choose to use words like "flame-bait" and "troll" in a weak and obvious attempt to minimize any criticism of your cherished beliefs. 2: y'all <-- We wouldn't be trying to make an subtle ethnic slur here are we. Oh I forgot the PC crowd can attack whites, jews, asians (if they make too much money), southerners, ...ect and that's ok. Do you do this at work? Are you creating a "hostile workplace" with your anti-souther bais?? Do you see how silly this whole "hostile workplace" concept is?? 3: please define "hate-speech" and show where in the 1st Amendments or the numerous SC ruling that there is "Freedom of Speech" except for speech that *you* don't like. Please explain where your "right" not to be offened is derived from.

It doesn't matter that the offensive names weren't directed at her. It's much worse that they were directed towards an entire group. Or maybe you just admire ethnic slander in terms of cost-efficiency, a sort of more-bang-for-the-buck maximization of intolerance where it's a question of offending the greatest number with the least amount of effort, and simply admire the mechanism by which it's been accomplished?

This isn't an issue of free speech. Well, maybe. The coder is free to name her/his/its variables what they like, all ethical issues aside, and equally free to live with the consequences of those actions, which should have been the company not using something so vastly unprofessional and guaranteed to eventually open them up to a suit like this. There are standards of behavior in a workplace that are slightly more restrictive than standing on a soapbox on the quad. A software company's code is an internal company document. The code that you write at home is your document. You may find this distinction instructive.

This is strictly an issue of free speech. Wether you *like* what I have to say is not an issue, I still retain the right to say it. The fact of *where* I say it is irrelevant. If I want to tell a dirty joke, or make a "racist" comment at work that is my *right* to do so. If my employer objects to that behavior then it is his right to take whatever action he feels necessary (upto and including fireing me). This is a matter between myself and my employer and does not involve the courts or the politicians.

I'm sorry to digress, since this isn't why the article was originally posted, but I was forced to succumb to the troll. Free speech is essential in an open society. Freedom from discrimination is essential in a democracy. Carry on.

Oh no, you were not "forced", you willfully jumped right in with your emotional dribble, fearful of open, objective, debate of your precious PC dogma. - -- - --------------------------------------------------------------- William H. Geiger III http://www.openpgp.net Geiger Consulting Cooking With Warp 4.0 Author of E-Secure - PGP Front End for MR/2 Ice PGP & MR/2 the only way for secure e-mail. OS/2 PGP 5.0 at: http://www.openpgp.net/pgp.html - --------------------------------------------------------------- Tag-O-Matic: Windows? Homey don't play that! -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 2.6.3a-sha1 Charset: cp850 Comment: Registered_User_E-Secure_v1.1b1_ES000000 iQCVAwUBNeRdFo9Co1n+aLhhAQErrAP/Qbb1Y50R7kKXaCs3V1EZZTmeCjZRiFVY OZm6wJcP7fy/oI1TYXE3Pio21+tOZdizy4xISiydLcjgXx6YzwYLJIZh8lAskcHl e/2/65X4oV9dWJYdTW+tbtOYLOY+qy8kGT/A1FOsotknPvy+0k/n2pVSNufBOQpg LBPbuFSX6HU= =Zsad -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----