 Here’s an idea: let’s call people “people” on the fediverse instead of “users” whenever we can. Compare: “There are 42 users on this instance.” vs “There are 42 people on this instance.” Which acknowledges our humanity more? Language matters. We don’t need to perpetuate mainstream technology’s othering/colonial framing of “us” – designers/developers/other “clever folks” – and “them” – the users (usually one step removed from “dumb user” and usually the ones who get used). @aral hello! I knew I was missing people from my old bird account. Also I agree! @aral I’ve never understood the hate for “users” as a term. It emphasizes the agency of the people using the technology. They are using it, to achieve their goals. I suspect this is all fallout from the War on Drugs. Just call them “tooters” if you really need a new word. @aral This makes it sound so much better! When you use "user" in a sentence it makes the person sound like a object or something unconscious. But take using the word "people" or "person" make it sound so much more alive. So I'm 100% with #peoplenotusers @aral there is zero implication in the word that the "user" is not clever, it's a functional word, as in "people who use the product", irrespective of whatever other personal capabilities they may have. Such us vs them, the clever vs the not-so-clever, perceptions you might have imho come from flawed perceptions and communication habits in whatever IT companies you worked at and does not come from any colonial background. @aral I like this. We dont use the word “users” much either for the same reason, but not occurred to me the impact this has on a social media community.  @aral Big disagree! Viz. Olia Lialina: http://contemporary-home-computing.org/turing-complete-user/  @aral ‘place’ not ‘nation’   Your chart is ready, and can be found here: https://www.solipsys.co.uk/Chartodon/109296312885804906.svg Things may have changed since I started compiling that, and some things may have been inaccessible. In particular, the very nature of the fediverse means some toots may never have made it to my instance, in which case I can't see them, and can't include them. The chart will eventually be deleted, so if you'd like to keep it, make sure you download a copy. @aral May I respectfully disagree? Context matters. When I'm eating I'm a diner. When I'm speaking I'm a speaker. When I'm with my doctor I'm a patient. And when I'm using software I'm a user. All of those roles are aspects of the person that is me. None make me anything but human.  @aral Not every account is run by or represents a person, and not every person limits themselves to a single account. @aral Users simply means users if the software/system, nothing more. Perhaps this is a bit techy, but nothing wrong with that as jargon often finds mainstream consciousness. User is more accurate actually, and don’t forget that a user is a person. Any negative connotation of this term in this context should dissolve in time.  @aral I have used, variously, "people," "users," "members," and "accounts" in different contexts. There are accounts here that are not people, although people are the majority. We are members of instances if we contribute--posting, boosting, helping others, or financially. And we are users. I have not yet settled on one or two words that perfectly capture every situation, but "people" and "members" are in the lead.  @aral When I toot in french I love "personne" which is non gendered (épicène). User is for on line services, ok but 1) it's utilisateur / utilisatrice (too long) or utilisateurice - utilisateur·trice (help, call immediately the French Akademy, french language is attacked by wicked wokists !!!) (still too long) in french and 2) as you say (I'll try to put it short) humanity matters :-) @aral @aral I think I’m going to start insisting on this in the new code I write. typealias person = user Should be all downhill from there. @aral how dare you. There are dogs here as well!! Joking aside, YES. People > Users @aral When I wrote the Outreachy website, I used the word "comrads" instead of "users". People is a good word too. |
Gregory's Server
What you have in you hard drives are users (or accounts), not people.