Comments on: Internationalization of Names http://zevils.com/2007/12/28/internationalization-of-names/ More fun than a gallon of strawberries Tue, 06 Jan 2009 03:24:26 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.1 By: Adrienne Adams http://zevils.com/2007/12/28/internationalization-of-names/#comment-134 Adrienne Adams Fri, 07 Mar 2008 20:03:25 +0000 http://zevils.com/2007/12/28/internationalization-of-names/#comment-134 <p>Thanks for this article. I have linked to it from a topic I started on the WordPress forum, as I have issues with the limited way that WordPress treats names. Blogging is international, and applications like WordPress (in my view) are especially compelled to non-culturally-biased practices.</p> <p>My suggestion for WordPress developers was simply this: provide multiple entry fields, <em>sans</em> culturally-biased labels, and then—as you mention above—<em>simply <strong>ask the person</strong> how he/she would prefer to be addressed.</em></p> <p>The data design shouldn't impose cultural structure, merely mirror it.</p> <p>I also agree with Chad's suggestion of avoiding gender classification, as well.</p> Thanks for this article. I have linked to it from a topic I started on the WordPress forum, as I have issues with the limited way that WordPress treats names. Blogging is international, and applications like WordPress (in my view) are especially compelled to non-culturally-biased practices.

My suggestion for WordPress developers was simply this: provide multiple entry fields, sans culturally-biased labels, and then—as you mention above—simply ask the person how he/she would prefer to be addressed.

The data design shouldn’t impose cultural structure, merely mirror it.

I also agree with Chad’s suggestion of avoiding gender classification, as well.

]]> By: Chad http://zevils.com/2007/12/28/internationalization-of-names/#comment-35 Chad Fri, 28 Dec 2007 22:56:17 +0000 http://zevils.com/2007/12/28/internationalization-of-names/#comment-35 <p>I understand this confusion and conflation. I myself have a more thai/russian style nickname, in the sense that it was given to me very shortly after birth, is derived from my first name, and I use it far more frequently than my actual first name. Fortunately, when I started the new job, I was able to have a conversation with IT early enough that they formulated my e-mail address there with my well used nickname, instead of my lesser known full name.</p> <p>I won't go on about the inappropriateness of encoding metadata (generation, gender) into your name. Efficient, but as we can see, in the long run, a bad idea. This is different from the appelations of Sr., Jr., or in my case, III.... these are also metadata in the name, but they are not concatenated or hashed with any other part of the name, and so in many circumstances can be safely disregarded.</p> I understand this confusion and conflation. I myself have a more thai/russian style nickname, in the sense that it was given to me very shortly after birth, is derived from my first name, and I use it far more frequently than my actual first name. Fortunately, when I started the new job, I was able to have a conversation with IT early enough that they formulated my e-mail address there with my well used nickname, instead of my lesser known full name.

I won’t go on about the inappropriateness of encoding metadata (generation, gender) into your name. Efficient, but as we can see, in the long run, a bad idea. This is different from the appelations of Sr., Jr., or in my case, III…. these are also metadata in the name, but they are not concatenated or hashed with any other part of the name, and so in many circumstances can be safely disregarded.

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