GNU bug report logs - #61325
30.0.50; Jokes in GNUS manual

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From: Richard Stallman <rms <at> gnu.org>
To: Po Lu <luangruo <at> yahoo.com>
Cc: yantar92 <at> posteo.net, gregory <at> heytings.org, 61325 <at> debbugs.gnu.org, stefankangas <at> gmail.com
Subject: bug#61325: 30.0.50; Jokes in GNUS manual
Date: Wed, 08 Mar 2023 23:28:40 -0500

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  > > Though I do not see why replacing the risky topics with more neutral
  > > would hurt, given that the quality of a joke being changed does not
  > > degrade.

  > Because it amounts to kow-towing in front of the mob of hypersensitive
  > people.

I agree.

If you write a mamual and put no jokes in it, the absence of jokes is
not a bug.  There is no need to add jokes just so there will be some
jokes.

If you write a mamual and put no sex-related jokes in it, the absence
of sex-related jokes is not a bug.  There is no need to add
sex-related jokes just so there will be some.

If you write a manual with some sex-related jokes, and for some
unrelated reason you delete one, deleting it is not a problem.
That particular sex-related joke is not essential for a good manual.

But if we consider a proposel to delete all sex-related jokes because
talking about sex is "offensive", that is not simply proposing a
change in the manual.  It is, in effect, a proposal to establish a
rule against such jokes.  That makes it much more of an issue than
adding or deleting one particular joke.

-- 
Dr Richard Stallman (https://stallman.org)
Chief GNUisance of the GNU Project (https://gnu.org)
Founder, Free Software Foundation (https://fsf.org)
Internet Hall-of-Famer (https://internethalloffame.org)

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