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Inclusive Terminology Initiative

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We remain committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion and to changing, for the better, our use of inclusive language. These are the words that we use with our customers, our partners, our employees, and our communities.

In August 2020, we launched the Adopting Inclusive Terminology initiative. The goal of this initiative is to identify, review, and replace non-inclusive terminology. We define non-inclusive terms as terms that are profane or derogatory; terms that contain unconscious bias in relation to race, ethnicity, age, gender, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, health or abilities, socioeconomic status, or political views; and terms that evoke violent metaphors.

The following list includes replacements for non-inclusive terms that we have identified to date.

Domain

Instead of

Use

Cybersecurity

blacklist
(to) blacklist
blacklisted

deny list
(to) deny
denied/disallowed

graylist
(to) graylist
graylisted

track list or inspect list
(to) track or (to) inspect
tracked or inspected

whitelist
(to) whitelist
whitelisted

allow list
(to) allow
allowed

black hat hacker

malicious actor

gray hat hacker

hacker

white hat hacker

computer security expert/specialist, cybersecurity expert, or ethical hacker

Chinese Wall firewall

Engineering

product infant mortality

early life anomaly

Finance cannibalized revenue migration revenue

General use

(to) blackball

(to) reject

(to) blackmail
blackmail

(to) extort
extortion

black market

illegal market

native in technical language, replace with an appropriate term in context

senior moment

memory lapse or absentmindedness

tribe

team or squad

whitewash avoid using metaphorically

Hardware

male connector

plug (preferred), convex, pin, or prong

female connector

socket (preferred), concave, receptacle, or slot

kill switch

power disconnect switch

mating connector pairing connector
midget fuse 1-1/2 x 13/32 in., fast-acting fuse
molested/unmolested modified/unmodified

penetration test

ingress test

Legal

grandfather clause

legacy clause, exempt, or exempted

Motion

master*

leader

master board

main board

master card primary card
slave board secondary board
slave card secondary card
slave* follower

Software/programming

(to) abort

cancel (preferred) or close (app, program, connection)

(to) cripple
crippled

degrade/limit performance
degraded/limited performance

dummy value

placeholder value

(to) hang

stop responding, stop working, become unresponsive, stop

(to) kill

cancel (preferred), close (app, program, connection), stop, or end (avoid, except with ‘session’ or ‘call’)

master branch

main branch

orphan
(to) orphan)

abandoned
(to) abandon

sanity test
sanity check

test, validation, or verification (as appropriate)

(to) segregate
segregation

separate, partition, assign, isolate, or categorize (verb)
assignment, isolation, or partitioning (noun)

STONICH isolate failed mode

(to) terminate

close (app, program, connection, or client), exit or end (avoid, except with ‘session’ or ‘call’)

* The terms ‘master’ and ‘slave’ are two of the most challenging terms that we are currently working on. Guidance in the Motion context has been approved. However, the guidance for replacing these terms is still being developed in these contexts: Redundancy, Replication (data), Time hierarchy and synchronization, and Communications hierarchy and control.

Important: The word ‘master’ is completely acceptable when it is used in some meanings, such as proficiency or excellence. For example, we are not replacing terms master class, Master of Arts, master performer, master of ceremonies, and similar others.

This list is not final. We continue to work with subject matter experts (SMEs), industry peers, and standards organizations to continue identifying suitable replacements.

Contact Us

If you have any questions about the terms on this list or have come across a different non-inclusive term in our software, web or printed content, please email our Inclusive Terminology Review Board.

Contact the Inclusive Terminology Review Board
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