# The 'E' word **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [April 17, 2009, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-e-word/493401 "2009-04-17T11:34:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2009, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-e-word/493401/21 "2009-04-26T12:26:21Z")
With apologies for the delay, I’m just getting here. **friedo** : yes, you were out of line in your first post. I’m glad you recognized it an apologized before a mod saw it, so we’ll sort of shrug our shoulders and ignore it. **wilmaxwell** , welcome, glad to have you with us. Please be aware that we do NOT allow personal insults here. Your response to **friedo** was perfectly reasonable and I want to thank you for not responding in kind. In future, if someone insults you, you can REPORT it – click on the little red triangle with a ! in the upper right corner of their post – and a moderator will take action as needed. (Action can include scolding the person, Warning the person not to do it again, or more severe actions like suspension if the person has ignored several warnings… depends on the severity of the offense. For details on our rules, please go the the forum called “About this Message Board” and you’ll see the Registration Agreement and a few threads about Rules, Etiquette, etc.) Personal insults are not allowed on the Straight Dope Message Boards – as you say, our goal is to fight ignorance, not to engage in name-calling – except in the forum called the BBQ Pit, where you may flame other posters, as an outlet. Anyhow, as I say, welcome! ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2009, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-e-word/493401/22 "2009-04-29T18:27:21Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > This is wrong, because not all Eskimo are Inuit or Yupik. It’s like saying ‘German’ and ‘French’ are more correct than ‘European’. It’s as authoritative as the sources it cites, which are numerous and all listed on that very page. If you’re going to attack the source, at least attack the _actual_ source. **Derleth,** old friend, I couched my statement about Inuit and Yupik being more accurate in “according to somebody” because these claims of ethnic insult are often either mistaken or subject to debate. An example is the sloppy fuss over “squaw.” My comment about _Wikipedia_ was about the running controversy over Wiki’s feet of clay. Some university professors are throwing out research papers that hang on Wiki cites. Wiki is very useful, and it’s a vast source of information. However, Wiki’s “everybody writes us” policy results in some shaky pages among the solid information. It seems to me these days that half the things I ask Wiki for are called “stubs” or they beg for solid sources. With that in mind, some Wiki references are no better than some guy you met in a bar. He may be rock solid right, or he may be fullasht. ---
**Author:** ![Yssy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/bbce88/32.png) [@Yssy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yssy)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2009, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-e-word/493401/23 "2009-04-30T13:29:51Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > […So your anthropology department taught you a false etymology for “Eskimo” and then taught you that it’s insulting to use the term because of that false etymology. On the other hand, they didn’t teach you the correct spelling for the world “Inuit” and they didn’t teach you what the singular and plural for the word is…you don’t know how to spell it, you don’t know how to make it singular and plural, and you don’t know what the subgroups of the Eskimo are. > > Furthermore, you graduated from college and yet you have a lot of problems with spelling and grammar. This is a poor argument, one can be highly intelligent, have an excellent education and still be a poor speller. Dyslexia anyone ? ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2009, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-e-word/493401/24 "2009-04-30T15:26:31Z")
> [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](#): > > Let’s call 'em The Cool Dudes! I mean, nobody’s gonna get offended by that, right? Your use of the term “Dudes” clearly reflects a phallocentric bias which is potentially offensive to 51% of the population. I suggest “Persons of Coolness.” [QUOTE=hogarth] From what I gather, calling a native northener an “Eskimo” is like calling an American a “Yankee” – some would say it’s accurate and inoffensive, some would say it’s inaccurate and inoffensive, and some would say it’s inaccurate and offensive, depending on where you live and how easily offended you are. [/QUOTE] Given the discussions on this board about using the word ["Jap"](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=446375&highlight=Japanese+offensive)I would also add a category, “technically accurate but still offensive.” ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2009, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-e-word/493401/25 "2009-04-30T15:55:31Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > Your use of the term “Dudes” clearly reflects a phallocentric bias which is potentially offensive to 51% of the population. Sorry, but it’s your own phallocentric bias showing, insisting that “dude” is a masculine only term. These days, my teens call each other “dude” regardless of gender. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2009, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-e-word/493401/26 "2009-04-30T21:34:23Z")
> [@AskNott](#): > > Wiki is very useful, and it’s a vast source of information. However, Wiki’s “everybody writes us” policy results in some shaky pages among the solid information. And you think this is any different from any other encyclopedia? Britannica contains some howlers, too. ---
**Author:** ![John\_W.Kennedy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_w.kennedy/32/1031_2.png) [@John\_W.Kennedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_W.Kennedy)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2009, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-e-word/493401/27 "2009-04-30T21:46:32Z")
> [@AskNott](#): > > Some university professors are throwing out research papers that hang on Wiki cites. They were throwing out “research papers” that hung on _Britannica_ cites decades ago. And, on the other hand, Wikipedia throws out original research, no matter how sound it is. Research is research and encyclopedias are encyclopedias and the functions of the two are radically different. (The _Britannica_ made the mistake of allowing in a piece of original research in 1929. They’ve been apologizing for it for almost 40 years now, but the fake religion based on it is still around.) ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2009, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-e-word/493401/28 "2009-05-01T05:04:53Z")
> [@John\_W.Kennedy](#): > > They were throwing out “research papers” that hung on _Britannica_ cites decades ago. And, on the other hand, Wikipedia throws out original research, no matter how sound it is. Research is research and encyclopedias are encyclopedias and the functions of the two are radically different. > > (The _Britannica_ made the mistake of allowing in a piece of original research in 1929. They’ve been apologizing for it for almost 40 years now, but the fake religion based on it is still around.) Can you elaborate? My google-fu fails me. ---
**Author:** ![John\_W.Kennedy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_w.kennedy/32/1031_2.png) [@John\_W.Kennedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_W.Kennedy)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2009, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-e-word/493401/29 "2009-05-01T16:21:17Z")
Start with [this article by Cecil.](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1355/what-is-the-historical-basis-of-the-wicca-religion-modern-witchcraft) But one thing that he leaves out there is that, for the new edition of 1929, the Britannica asked Margaret Murray to write the “Witchcraft” article. That article remained in print as part of the _Britannica_ until the new edition _ca._ 1970. The new “Witchcraft” article apologizes for all the people that were misled by Murray’s nonsense. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2009, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-e-word/493401/30 "2009-05-01T19:02:52Z")
Ah. I had no idea how that myth got started. I’d always heard it started in the 1950s. And I definitely never knew Britannica was involved in it. At least that fake religion seems to be on the wane around here. Generally it’s one of those things that high schoolers experiment with just to be different, but change their minds later. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-e-word/493401.md?page=1)