I was just reading the GNOME Human Interface Guidelines, which tell computer application developers how to make their applications integrate well into GNOME, and the internationalization section closes with a list of some common things to avoid:
- Pictures of flags or money
- Maps showing political boundaries or contentious location names
- Lists of countries or cities in non-alphabetical order (unless specifically requested or required by the context)
- Icons depicting animals
- Icons depicting only hands or feet
Alright, I get it— somebody from New Guinea may not be familiar with an animal that an application developer on the other side of the world sees every day, right? But hands and feet? Are you kidding me!? Most of us are BORN with hands and feet, so not understanding what a foot is could be a problem. It would have to be something offensive or impolite.
As I understand it, Islam forbids any iconography (especially of Mohammed), which is why traditional Muslim art and architecture is characterized by intricate geometric designs and scrolls.
You really can’t get less iconographic or symbolic than Libya’s flag:

That would account for the avoidance of animal icons, as well as against the hands and feet. Some Arabs can be offended by body language involving hands and feet. For instance, it is considered impolite to point the sole of your foot or shoe at another person. So just to be on the safe side, it might be best to avoid any depictions of hands or feet.

Oh, the irony.
I suppose using a penis as a symbol for a function on the computer to “make new things” would not be acceptable in Western culture (it would be perfectly acceptable in others), but O Allah!, why should some gesture or even body part be insufferable to one race, and acceptable to another? Are we, as the humans, that narrow minded? And we are letting something as petty as this influence the way we build computer systems? If we cannot look at a picture of a foot, or any other body part for that matter, how will we ever communicate as humans without hostility?
Lineage: PF
Don’t Tip
Why tip? People say that it gives the waiter an economic incentive to do his job better. Because of this incentive, the meal will get to the table faster and the experience is generally more enjoyable.
Makes sense, no?
A waitress who takes your food 10 meters from the bench to your table deserves a tip, yet a man who spent weeks dealing with clients and sorting out technical issues for a large engineering project doesn’t? If tipping is to reward hard work and good service, then the engineer has done a hell of a lot more of both than the waitress. Why don’t we tip doctors? Why don’t we tip the mailman, bus driver, and dry cleaner?
The answer is because it tipping is nothing more than a tradition. It’s so locked in as tradition, that instead of tipping existing as a form of authentic personal charity, many people will take out their cell phones to calculate exactly how much 14% of the bill is. People who are short on money still feel obligated to tip, because the waiter would be insulted if he wasn’t paid extra. Countries like England, Japan, and Australia have no custom of tipping. In Switzerland, tipping is expected, but not more than 1.5% of the bill. In some countries, offering a tip would be considered condescending or demeaning.
Tipping became standard when a few rich people started doing it. It spread throughout the upperclass as a “socially responsible” thing to do and made people feel good for helping out the poor. This idea turned into an etiquette (read: required rules of society). The middle class inevitably emulated the rich, and the poor inevitably emulated the middle class.
Some take the stance that you should tip to get waiters up to minimum wage—but before you do this, you have to ask yourself why they are paid below minimum wage. Employers are allowed to pay waiters below minimum wage because tips make up a significant percentage of their income.
By tipping waiters to get them up to minimum wage, you are perpetuating the very system you seek to defeat. The more that you tip, the further restaurant workers’ real wages will fall. All you’re doing is increasing the restaurant owners’ profits by eliminating one of his highest costs and throwing away good money. It’s the employer’s job to pay his employees for their services, not the customer’s.