[R] Inappropriate color name

Tue Nov 17 23:11:07 CET 2020

I would not be optimistic about a change - the naming scheme is a community standard, and the community is VERY large; this scheme is employed in thousands of software assets. Ultimately it goes back to X11 color naming in the eighties. See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X11_color_names for details on how it was created and to get a sense where else the scheme and its derivatives are being used. 

AFAIAC R is simply following standard usage, which is generally a Good Thing - except for the inertia this creates to maintain outdated standards - at times.

B.

> On 2020-11-18, at 07:57, Spencer Graves <spencer.graves using effectivedefense.org> wrote:
> 
> EXTERNAL EMAIL:  Treat content with extra caution.
> 
>         Might it be appropriate to raise that question on the Talk page
> associated with the Wikipedia article on "Indian red (color)":
> 
> 
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_red_(color)
> 
> 
>         Many Wikimedian are generally sympathetic to discussions of
> political correctness and similar topics.  If the name of that article
> were changed, then it should be a lot easier to pursue a similar name
> change elsewhere.
> 
> 
>         Spencer Graves
> 
> 
> On 2020-11-17 15:25, Mitchell Maltenfort wrote:
>> What about just amputating the final "n?"
>> 
>> "Indian" might mean one of two things, but "India" is pretty distinct.
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> On Tue, Nov 17, 2020 at 4:10 PM T. A. Milne via R-help <r-help using r-project.org>
>> wrote:
>> 
>>> 
>>> Apologies to the list for continuing a thread which is clearly off-topic.
>>> However, contacting the maintainer of an R package to complain about this
>>> specific color name seems ill-considered.
>>> 
>>> 1)  The name "indian red" is a part of widely-used color schemes
>>> everywhere, not just in R.  It's the color defined as:
>>> 
>>> "The color indianred / Indian red with hexadecimal color code #cd5c5c is a
>>> shade of red. In the RGB color model #cd5c5c is comprised of 80.39% red,
>>> 36.08% green and 36.08% blue. In the HSL color space #cd5c5c has a hue of
>>> 0° (degrees), 53% saturation and 58% lightness. This color has an
>>> approximate wavelength of 611.37 nm."
>>> 
>>> https://encycolorpedia.com/cd5c5c
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 2)  The "indian" in the color name refers to ferric oxide, historically
>>> sourced from India.  Per Wikipedia:
>>> 
>>> "The name Indian red derives from the red laterite soil found in India,
>>> which is composed of naturally occurring iron oxides.[citation needed] The
>>> first recorded use of Indian red as a color term in English was in 1672.[3"
>>> 
>>> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_red_(color)
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Given the name refers to the locus of the ferric oxide source, It isn't
>>> obvious that any particular group should be offended by the name.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> --  T. Arthur Milne
>>> 
>>> 
>>>> On Nov 16, 2020, at 5:46 PM, Rolf Turner <r.turner using auckland.ac.nz>
>>> wrote:
>>>> 
>>>> On Tue, 17 Nov 2020 07:54:01 +1100
>>>> Jim Lemon <drjimlemon using gmail.com> wrote:
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>>> Hi Elaine,
>>>>> There seems to be a popular contest to discover offence everywhere. I
>>>>> don't think that it does anything against racism, sexism or
>>>>> antidisestablishmentarianism. Words are plucked from our vast lexicon
>>>>> to comfort or insult our fellows depending upon the intent of the
>>>>> user. It is the intent that matters, not the poor word. Chasing the
>>>>> words wastes your time, blames those who use the words harmlessly,
>>>>> and gives the real offender time to find another epithet.
>>>>> 
>>>> Jim:  This is superbly expressed.  I wish that I could have said
>>>> that! Your posting should go down in the annals of brilliant rhetoric,
>>>> alongside Dr. Johnson's "Letter to Lord Chesterfield".
>>>> 
>>>> cheers,
>>>> 
>>>> Rolf
>>>> 
>>> You know, I wouldn’t have continued this thread (which has now wandered
>>> off topic from the original somewhat-more-technical question), but I feel
>>> now like it’s necessary to do so (and only fair, if anyone is considering
>>> moderating me after letting these posts by):
>>> 
>>> That is a view commonly held by white people, and even more overwhelmingly
>>> by white men. Our field is already not as diverse as it should be for a
>>> variety of reasons, and this “pretending no one else on earth exists” kind
>>> of stuff is at least some part of the reason. The question at issue here
>>> aside, white men complaining about people finding racism or sexism
>>> everywhere they look doesn’t pass the sniff test. Most or all of these
>>> things that people are reporting as offensive are being reported by people
>>> you’re clearly not listening to.
>>> 
>>> Further, impact is what matters. If I step on your foot, I apologize,
>>> regardless of whether or not it was intentional, because it’s the right
>>> thing to do. If someone tells you “that thing you’re saying is offensive or
>>> is hurting me” and you say “I didn’t mean it,” and then keep right on doing
>>> it, what does it say to the person on the receiving end of it? All anyone
>>> that is being “blamed,” as you put it, is being asked to do is to try to do
>>> better next time.
>>> 
>>> --
>>> #BlackLivesMatter
>>> ____
>>> || \\UTGERS,     |---------------------------*O*---------------------------
>>> ||_// the State  |         Ryan Novosielski - novosirj using rutgers.edu
>>> || \\ University | Sr. Technologist - 973/972.0922 (2x0922) ~*~ RBHS Campus
>>> ||  \\    of NJ  | Office of Advanced Research Computing - MSB C630, Newark
>>>      `'
>>> 
>>> ______________________________________________
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>>> 
>> 
>>      [[alternative HTML version deleted]]
>> 
>> ______________________________________________
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>> PLEASE do read the posting guide http://www.R-project.org/posting-guide.html
>> and provide commented, minimal, self-contained, reproducible code.
>> 
> 
> ______________________________________________
> R-help using r-project.org mailing list -- To UNSUBSCRIBE and more, see
> https://stat.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-help
> PLEASE do read the posting guide http://www.R-project.org/posting-guide.html
> and provide commented, minimal, self-contained, reproducible code.