[PATCH v2 00/13] Replace us of term abort

[Thomas Monjalon]

06/09/2023 21:39, Stephen Hemminger:
> On Wed, 30 Aug 2023 18:49:14 +0200
> Thomas Monjalon <thomas at monjalon.net> wrote:
> 
> > I don't feel the rationale should be followed here.
> > If there are better terms, why not.
> > But really, "abort" is not only medical.
> > And banning this word may be felt as a political position,
> > which is not what we want.
> > 
> > I am OK to replace if there is a better word in some contexts,
> > but we should not make it forbidden.
> 
> There are two overlapping reasons behind this.
> First, any reference to abortion in the US is a political hot button.

Sorry that you live in such a country ;)

> Therefore the recommendation is to avoid the term.
> 
> The other reason is that the term may raise some negative feelings
> from people that have had to have an abortion.

Forbidding the word may be understood as the opposite reason.
That's why I think we should not forbid the word officially.

> According to the etymology sites and dictionary sites
> I looked at the term comes from a strictly medical point of view:
>  https://www.etymonline.com/word/abortion
>  https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/abort
> It looks like the secondary meaning in computer science came later.
> It would be best if the term could be avoid if possible.

If there are better alternatives, let's use them for the only reason
they are better understood in their respective context.