this post was submitted on 27 Jun 2026
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Does the same argument apply to calling ~~janitors~~ custodians "sanitation engineers"? I've seen that some places.
Like, if the word "custodian" is too offensive, then maybe it's just because the job sucks and comes with stigma, and anything you call it is going to sound derogatory after a few years...
I get that it's a critical job, and the people in those roles should be treated with dignity and respect like everyone else. The social stigma is wrong, for sure. But simply changing the title doesn't solve anything...
What? That's a very different situation than what I was talking about with software development. I thought I pretty clearly outlined the core of what it means to be an engineer- Custodians aren't doing engineering work. As you said, that doesn't make the role less important or less deserving of dignity.
Just calling someone an engineer because it sounds better is silly and demeans both the actual role and the work that engineers do.
Okay, so the argument does not apply to that situation. A simple "no" would have sufficed...
It is more useful to explain why something is wrong
Yeah the explanation was fine but the "What? That's a very different situation" seemed unnecessarily hostile. But maybe it just have my panties in a bunch today, it could be me