GUADEC: Danny O'Brien on privacy, encryption, and the desktop

Posted Aug 4, 2010 22:56 UTC (Wed) by gdt (subscriber, #6284)
Parent article: GUADEC: Danny O'Brien on privacy, encryption, and the desktop

Another good example of programmers not understanding the use of the OS in repressive circumstances is their misuse of flags. Flags indicate an allegiance to a cause -- usually a nation. Using flags as an icon for the choice of language is fraught with difficulties. As there are circumstances where indicating the wrong allegiance can be fatal, having flags anywhere in the user interface is stupid.

One package I used displayed the USA flag to mean "English language in use". Obviously that programmer had never considered that some countries that are fine for English-language speakers to visit are antagonistic to those with an allegiance to the USA (a good current example would be Iran).