Lyft’s algorithm is trying to block people with names like ‘Dick’ and ‘Cummings’

Re:Lyft’s algorithm is trying to block people with names lik... by isquared23 on Sunday January 12, 2020 @10:50AM (#22026773)

It does mean white/of European origin in American English. Just like entree means main dish. Both don’t correspond to the original meaning of the words. You can find similar shifts in meaning in other languages too (e.g., German calls a mobile/cell phone “Handy” which makes no sense to a native English speaker).

I question the wisdom of telling native speakers that their language uses a word wrong/that doesn’t mean what “they assume it means”. Stuff in AE (and other language) means exactly what AE speakers (and speakers of other languages) assume it means.

Cau·ca·sian /kôˈkāZHən/ NORTH AMERICAN white-skinned; of European origin.

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Re:Lyft’s algorithm is trying to block people with names lik... by kps on Sunday January 12, 2020 @11:32AM (#22027153)

‘Handy’ comes from the WWII ‘handie talkie’, a transceiver small enough to hold in the hand¹, which followed the ‘walkie talkie’, a transceiver small enough to walk around with².

¹ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Portable_radio_SCR536.png

² https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Scr300.png

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Re:Lyft’s algorithm is trying to block people with names lik... by Izkata on Sunday January 12, 2020 @06:13PM (#22030386)

Meanwhile, at least in the modern US, "walkie talkie" is the name of the handheld unit and "handie talkie" would get weird looks because it's not really known.

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Re:Lyft’s algorithm is trying to block people with names lik... by detaro on Monday January 13, 2020 @02:57AM (#22032665)

Same in Germany when you're talking about radios.

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Re:Lyft’s algorithm is trying to block people with names lik... by marton78 on Sunday January 12, 2020 @12:45PM (#22027685)

I find that highly doubtful, since around 50 years passed between WWII and the advent of mobile phones. I heard that "handy" was some early model by Motorola.

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Re:Lyft’s algorithm is trying to block people with names lik... by mygo on Sunday January 12, 2020 @12:59PM (#22027796)

And why did Motorola name it the “handy”?

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Re:Lyft’s algorithm is trying to block people with names lik... by woah on Sunday January 12, 2020 @01:38PM (#22028140)

Probably because it was handy.

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