The NIST is one of many federal agencies putting its attention and taxpayer funds into these efforts as it struggles to keep pace with its key mission. The NIST sparked controversy for its “Inclusive Language Guidance,” which tells scientists which words or phrases they can or cannot use in reports. …

– Consider that biased terms, such as blacklist/whitelist, also may introduce comprehension issues.

– Avoid terms such as master/slave that perpetuate negative stereotypes or unequal power relationships.

– Avoid identifying an individual’s gender unless necessary for comprehension, or using terms that assign a gender to inanimate objects, such as male/female connectors.

(via Off the Press)

[We must have solved all of our scientific mysteries if this is what NIST finds mission-critical these days. FWIW, “master/slave” in computing systems stopped being used in corporate America before Y2K, largely on the same issue cited here, in favor of “primary/secondary,” so either NIST or government scientists are way behind the curve. But there is nothing at all objectionable about using the terms ‘male’ and ‘female’ to describe connector types, and even more importantly, there aren’t any better terms to replace them, either. And if the goal is to be ‘inclusive,’ what could be more inclusive than a paradigm that encompasses both biological sexes? — Ed]