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
2 Comments
“Some Arabs can be offended by body language involving hands and feet.”
I’ve lived in Egypt and Saudi Arabia for 17 years. I’ve no idea where the hands thing comes from and have never heard this before. The foot story, though, is as mythic as it is common.
And the Libyan flag is gorgeous!
In Thailand it is offensive to show the sole of your foot to someone, or to point your foot at someone. This idea has changed the way Thais traditionally sit.
Interesting that the Arab/foot thing could be an urban legend that only survives in the west. I’ve never heard it from a proper source.