ar.al?
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).
ThatOneCalculator :calcdumpy: :calckey:
@aral@mastodon.ar.al the correct term is technically "actors", but that's just ActivityPub talk :)
Aral Balkan
@jan Then design for people and separate out the bots. When you combine the two, the bots don’t get the short end of the stick, people do.
Jan ☕🎼🎹☁️🏋️♂️
@aral that would lump in a lot of bots with people.
Bots are not people. Users, perhaps.
Aral Balkan
@janvlug It’s a horrible term that makes me feel like I need another shower every time I hear it.
Jan Vlug
@aral I've always hated 'human resources'.
Aral Balkan
@jasonemiller If only there was a word we could use to denote different accounts that a single person might have on a system. I don’t know, maybe something like “account?”
Jason Miller
@aral Setting the 'bot' problem aside, there is another problem with your plea. The word 'people' has a special meaning, implying distinct units. The word 'users' includes the possibility that one person could have multiple accounts. For this reason, it will always be the case that #users>=#people.
Aral Balkan
@onreact People is the plural of person? Damn, man, I’m glad we have you around to explain the complicated stuff.
onreact
@aral People are the plural of person. A persona is a mask originally. Humans are not "persons".
Accounts would be more accurate. As not all accounts are run by people and some people have several etc.
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