Ghost: Remove the word "sexy" from the UI

[djensen47]

Display a sexy logo for your publication

I cringe every time I read this. It is unprofessional and it is borderline if not completely sexist.

I don't want to upload a _sexy_ logo, I just want to upload my logo. The phrase works just fine without the unnecessary adjective:

Display a logo for your publication

[djensen47]

http://notapattern.net/2014/10/14/ways-men-in-tech-are-unintentionally-sexist/

From Item 5:

By sexualizing something that does not need to be sexualized, you’re creating a college-frat-boy type environment, as well as implicitly conflating quality with sexual attractiveness.

[JohnONolan]

If you think "sexy" is "sexist" then I'm pretty certain you don't understand the meaning of either one of those words. Further reading: http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/09/the-coddling-of-the-american-mind/399356/

[djensen47]

Why is it such a big deal to remove this word?

[JohnONolan]

There's no way you read what I linked to in the space of 8 minutes – which explains precisely the answer to that question. So if you don't respect my time, why should I respect yours?

[techwraith]

We, I have read the article. You're entitled to your opinion on this, but your reaction to this change makes me wonder what the goal of Ghost is.

Is Ghost trying to be a simple publishing platform that allows everyone to share their stories with the world? Or is Ghost trying to be a simple publishing platform that allows some people to share their stories with the world?

Making interfaces more inclusive furthers the goals of Ghost more than exclusionary interfaces. Why resist this change?

[djensen47]

@JohnONolan:
There's no way you read what I linked to in the space of 8 minutes

I did read the article.

I think it is possible for us to have a polite and productive conversation about this. But I would prefer that we leave out the ad hominem, adversarial tone.

I didn't want to start an argument, all I really wanted to do was remove a word from the UI. For that matter, _any_ adjective in that phrase is extraneous. Even "Display an awesome logo for your publication" should simply be "Display a logo for your publication."

[JohnONolan]

While I completely respect your opinion, (and it is just that: a subjective opinion) I don't agree with either your premise or your conclusions. That's fine, we don't have to agree, and we also don't tend to make product changes based on other people's arbitrary subjective opinions :)

[djensen47]

Would it be possible to hear from the top/lead contributor @ErisDS on this? #justcurious

If the two Ghost top contributors and co-founders agree, then that's that. Thanks.

[pqt]

For what it's worth, I completely disagree that this should be removed.

I got a good chuckle, and while Ghost is very much a professionally used
platform, there actually isn't a clear cut definition for what
'professional' entails. If you have ever worked for the back-end of an
extremely large company, you'd realize that they comments, methods and
array names typically have something quirky (such as this) that pops up
regularly. If you don't like it, you can personally change it on your own
projects.

It's not sexist, because it can be used equally from both directions and in
case we forget the obvious - it's not referring to a human in any way,
shape or form. It's a personification and hardly worth having an issue
over. If something like this makes you cringe, I wish you the best of luck
in the real-world.

[rhester72]

To be frank, this is at least the second instance where I've seen the Ghost group present the product (and by extension, themselves) as rather unprofessional. That isn't intended to offend as much as it is to inform - to give you an outsider's perspective on how things can come across.

I get the desire to seem 'edgy'. I lived through the .com boom and bust, and I understand the desire to stand out by being different - but sometimes, different isn't necessarily _good_.

John (and Hannah), it's your baby, and you've every right to shepherd it as you see fit. From where I sit, even though I understand the rationale (and the "I don't give a crap, we're having fun" tone), at some point you're going to have to decide whether you're creating a platform or a political statement. If it's the former, this sort of thing (along with some of the extremely off-color comments in the checkins) is going to have to stop, and the sooner, the better.

Not trying to rain on anyone's parade, but I'm willing to stick my neck out and say that Dave and I are almost certainly _far_ from the only ones bothered by the lack of professionalism, and that's something you may want to take into consideration before knee-jerking. You may be OSS, but it's also a _product you sell_ - image, particularly in this arena, is everything. Think hard about what you want that image to be.

I'm not going to get into a net.religion war over this, and this will be my first and last commentary on the subject...just wanted to offer my two cents that Dave does not stand alone here (and not ignoring your comment either, Daniel! :).

Rodney

[MrSchism]

Frankly, I think the use of the adjective adds a sort of quirkiness to the platform. Many newer platforms are being descriptive and make the platform seem more human in dialog. I'm going to agree that the term "sexy" is not sexist. In fact, if you look at the Merriam Webster definition you'll see that it doesn't have to mean anything sexual.

For what it's worth, if you think this is bad, you should read the Linux kernel source... and that's used in countless corporate environment.