
Rethinking the Dictionary - aaron695
https://urbandictionary.blog/post/2020-07-07-rethinking-the-dictionary/
======
nkurz
As far as I can tell, this blog post is because Urban Dictionary is
considering dropping definitions for terms that they consider to be "hate
speech". I guess this might make sense if the issue is entries that are being
created on the spot for the purpose of harassment, but avoiding derogatory
definitions seems counter to the purpose of a dictionary. Isn't it better to
know what your detractors mean rather than guessing, possibly incorrectly?

For example, a commenter here used "chud"[1] in in a way that I wasn't
familiar with, and I was able to use Urban Dictionary today to look up what he
meant:
[https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Chud](https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Chud).
I was familiar with its origins in an 80's film, vaguely recalled it was used
to signify severe unattractiveness, but didn't know that it had morphed to
become an insult used by the left to describe the alt-right.

I felt the dictionary served its purpose well. Should this definition be
included despite being derogatory? Yes. Should other definitions be included
even if they are derogatory regarding race or gender? I think so. As long as
terms are being used in the wild, isn't it better to be able to learn what
what someone means by their insults even if their use makes one think less of
them? Or am I misunderstanding, and Urban Dictionary is proposing something
else entirely?

[1] Interestingly, searching comments on HN, "chud" has only been used a
handful of times here in the last few years, but was used twice today in
independent comments. Is this a coincidence, or is it having a resurgence?

~~~
nicbou
This is also how I use Urban Dictionary. Removing words that are in use would
not do much to fight racism, but it would degrade the quality of the
dictionary.

On the other hand, some definitions ought to be reviewed to take the racist
edge off it. Many definitions are half definition, half rant against
something.

------
johnday
As a person in a marginalised community (LGBT, so admittedly less marginalised
than many in the West), I feel that UrbanDictionary provides an essential
service to marginalised people. It is impossible to find out precisely what
someone is trying to say _about_ you without turning to UD, or diving into
considerably more upsetting parts of the internet.

Indeed, I think the ideal mode would be to introduce a 'protected' flag,
similar to Wikipedia's, and for which particular care is taken when
constructing and assessing definitions. This will allow UD to act as a
reference for the topics where it is most relevant, and not yet another vector
for abuse.

