#20

@odevices personally i really appreciate this kind of attention to the politic nature of language BUT
random is random! no censorship please, let the machine express it\her\him\self as it\she\he wants :wink:

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#21

… though if you implement the blacklisting algorithm as you describe it, the output of “strings” on the firmware file might cause its own headaches in the future when this conversation is forgotten :slight_smile: “Why is there ‘WHITE POWER’ in this firmware!!!”

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#22

Please keep it as it is!
I’m already a little sad to have access to the list via this topic. For me, satisfaction with this feature comes from the random nature of the process. I am always happy to discover new combinations. If I know that they were first approved or restricted in some way (at least limited), they become sterile in my opinion. I understand that you have to choose the words, but please let the machine do the combinations freely!

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#23

I am completely new to this community and I’m very thankful for what Brian has created. His attention to detail is profound and inspiring. Likewise, I’ve been devouring all the wonderful conversations that are happening here and have learned so much from everyone who participates. I’m all for the random generation of names and I don’t want that to go away. But when “White Power” came up as a Custom Unit name I had to take a pause and let Brian know.

He’s right! It’s not about the relationship between the user and the 301. We all get the inside humor of random combinations. But spare a thought for 301 owners who don’t work by themselves. Personally, I’m fortunate to have lots of friends who come and hang out in my studio. Sometimes they bring their kids or teens to learn about sound and play around. I also have clients come over for editing sessions and they always want a tour of my sound design setup. I’m guessing I don’t have to spell out why “White Power” goes way beyond just hurting someones feelings.

Alas, I am new here. So I brought this up to Brian privately. I asked if there was a way to avoid this happening in the future. It was wonderful to see how he handled it by bringing it to the community and letting everyone weigh in. I grew up in possibly a bygone era of personal integrity/responsibility being the only currency we have as humans. I’m writing this because I didn’t want Brian to be alone in suggesting that there should be some guard rails on the possible pairings. I’m also not asking for special favors either. I am curious to listen to other arguments. It could certainly be the case that I’m the only 301 user that would be in this situation.

Be well all and thanks for listening.

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ER-301 Custom Units Random Names
#24

I think regardless of how offensive (or not) this is to anyone, allowing all three lists be editable solves most problems. And being aware of others’ sensitivities is just being a good person and having great customer service. Good job Brian.

The more options the better!

p.s. I’m going to start adding Lord of The Rings Character names in the noun list.

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#25

I would draw the OP’s attention to the Dying Earth Spell Generator, which I’ve found to be an interesting source of … spell names … but which might also prove inspirational for your purposes.

The author of the page I’ve linked to above also has a more general page dedicated to name generators that you might also find useful. My favorite is the kung fu move generator.

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#27

Perhaps a way to reduce the number of offensive pairings is to avoid nouns that directly designate human beings (ie. Mom, dad, wife, boy, girl, etc) ? And introduce more vegetables (from outer space :slight_smile: ) in the list ?

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#28

“especially broccoli”

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#29

Are you referring to the kind that turn saiyan? :rofl: I’m adding those too.

#30

Ignoring any pro- or anti-censorship feelings and looking at this from a pure programming perspective, it’s probably easiest to remove “white,” “black,” and any gendered noun (or really, any human noun). That would pretty much eliminate the need for the suppressed pairing list. I think the venn diagram of “ER-301 Users” and “People who would be offended by the word ‘pasta’ combined with a random adjective” would have very little overlap.

Also, I would like to submit “toot” to the noun list, since that’s funny with nearly any adjective.

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#31

in fact this is probably the most sensible of options if combinations of nouns and adjectives have such a potential. Would it not be “safer”? I’m assuming users would be able to rename the units if they were desirous of combinations which may or may not offend…and you/and or the ER-301 would be off the hook?

#32

I suggest getting rid of the nouns

Killer
Girl
Boy

#33

What about simply add an option to disable random naming ?

1 Like
#34

Hello - been a while, just catching up a little and found this :slight_smile:

I definitely feel as though political correctness has gone too far, way too far and everyone should just take it a bit slower and calmer, but sure, there are definitely unfortunate and undesirable combinations that should probably be removed to avoid any misunderstandings.

Ditch any clearly negative words, for example why are vulgar, angry, mad, poor, rude, crazy, killer, etc… even in there in the first place? Keep the words neutral or positive.

I particularly find the potential for mental health slurs to be of some concern, that is, I don’t think it’s cool to have Crazy Wife, Crazy Cow, Mad Lady, for example. I am sure there are others in this vein.

I agree with the suggestion to ditch the human side of things; boy, girl, hubby, wife, lady, youth, to remove any possible association with people.

I really like the suggestions made so far that inherently remove the possibility of accidentally creating anything that could be offensive. Personally, I would aim for a list of words that generally avoids unfortunate pairings rather than maintaining a list of suppressed combinations.

The planets and cities are cool :slight_smile:

Although you could end up offending a whole city I guess :wink:

How about:

Weather related terms; sunny, rainy, etc…

Synth terms; slider, knob, switch, socket, button, etc…

Household items; table, chair, lamp, cup, glass, cushion, pillow, shelf, etc…

Workshop tools; hammer, spanner, saw, punch, drill, etc…

Hope this helps and good luck!!

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#35

Haha, love it!! :heart: :rofl:

I must agree with you there.

On a more general note, I’m also for the idea of just removing the people (boy, girl, …) from the noun list. It’s an easy fix. But, I must admit , I ALWAYS rename my unit immediately after chuckling with my randomly generated name, so it’s not like an unmissable feature for me. I would be sad to see them go because I like a synthesizer that makes me chuckle.

#36

I appreciate @Quasi’s explanation of where this discussion started, and I appreciate @odevices’s thoughtful response and effort to tackle this topic. I abolutely agree that it’s very important to be be meticulous and sensitive with language and wording in general.

On the other hand there are a lot of dependencies: Who is using a term and what’s their intention? What’s their background? Who might hear or read this term in wich situation and what’s their background?

I always do my very best to be sensitive and to not hurt anybodys feelings and I would stand up against rassist remarks in public space – but on the other hand I can enjoy playing Cards Againgst Humanity at home with friends, because I know who they are and that this is just a silly game in a safe space, which won’t hurt anybodies feelings.

I understand that some people might have a problem with political incorrect random names in general or in certain situations, so an option to just switch it off seems like the best and simplest solution. More ER-301 like would be a fader: Min = No offense, Max = Cards Against Humanity. :wink:

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#37

Can we put that fader under cv control? :wink:

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#38

That goes without saying. Fed by a brain wave sensor.

#39

I agree. This would be a good option.

I think my brain is mature enough to realise the randomness of the names and at the same time, to find humour in all it’s doing. It’s a very enjoyable element even as the names are usually so silly and occasionally a little bit naughty. This world is getting way too wrapped in cotton wool already. Please let me enjoy a bit of silly or even (randomly generated) wrong humour . We really are a niche collective so the chance of someone from the outside who may also find offence in something such as this is so minimal but this simple option will fix that.

Also, I’m glad we’re a good bunch here so this thread hasn’t deteriorated into shameless virtue signalling and all out PC gone mad flame wars.

<3

#40

Synchronicitously this “news” story was present in yesterday morning’s output from the Australian Broadcasting Commission.

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