Fuck sake, people. “Dark pattern” isn’t a racist statement to be worried over. It means “under cover of darkness / in shadow / shady” where crime can go unseen. Go correct someone else.

To be crystal clear: I was all for eliminating “master/slave” terminology in tech. Also for renaming default git branches to anything but master, though it’s not as on-the-nose as master/slave. But dark when it means concealed by absence of light has NOTHING to do with race or oppression.

To ban the word in all contexts because some people might use it to mean something bad in some contexts is misguided at best. To “correct” others when there is no actual problem is inexcusable condescension.

@joshua I love you Josh, but I’m going to make this point, with admittedly little context. Who is deciding that there is no actual problem with the term “dark pattern”. If you’re deciding this based on your own opinion, then bear in mind that you probably don’t get to decide if “dark pattern” is problematic.

Same way you don’t get to decide that potato-munching, big-trotter is not problematic for talking about me. 🥔

Sign in to participate in the conversation
NI Tech

The social network of the future: No ads, no corporate surveillance, ethical design, and decentralization! Own your data with Mastodon!