your most detested bullshit euphemism

I would actually aver that 'social engineering' is not a euphemism at all. The term generally relates to propaganda etc. (see en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soci...science%29 ) or computer security (see en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soci...ecurity%29 ), and it does not mean 'stupidity'--it actually means the near-opposite: 'cleverness'.

Just as engineers solve problems of how to best design bridges and airplanes and such, social engineers confront problems that are important to them for whatever reason (generally perverse): how to best exploit people's weaknesses and/or gain their trust, so as to take advantage of them in some way. The most secure computer system in the entire world could still be broken into by someone clever enough to fool the right people into granting them access.

Modern email viruses now have far more social engineering put into them than older ones did, and they will continue to get cleverer as the general public gets more wary of viruses and common ploys.

One of the most famous computer crackers, Kevin Mitnick, was a skilled social engineer who would routinely fool people into divulging information or granting him access to places he didn't belong. If there's another term that's synonymous for 'social engineer', it would probably be 'con man'.

Of course, you could call the people who fall for these tricks 'stupid' if you like, but 'naive' is probably the harshest word I'd use. I doubt there are many of us here who could claim to have never been 'socially engineered' in some way. But please don't call us the 'socially engineered' or 'judgementally challenged'! ;)

isnt it 'cleansing' because the people who do it consider it to be a good thing, like litter picking or immunisation?

so why try desensatize the meaning. we all fuckin know what genocide is.
but i hear that bad guy term on the news, and for some reason its easier to hear.

i want to throw up.

LOL

I agree. Bathroom, washroom, restroom.
I'm not going to have a bath there.
I might wash but that's not why I'm going there.
Why the hell would anyone want to rest there?

I like to say, "I'm going to skip to the loo."

I also have been enamored of the workd "lavatory" since I learned it in first grade. But it means washroom, too, (laver=wash).

Oh wait. This is the detested euphemisms thread. Not the beloved euphemisms thread. So sorry.

I think in some cases these aren't euphemisms, they're legitimate terms that have either become outdated or have been expanded to adjust for the times.

For example, "bathroom" isn't a euphemism. it's a descriptive term. the room with the bath in it. we adopted it to mean any room that had a toilet in it, so it's no longer an accurate term. but it's not meant as a hush-hush term. in some places it's actually considered vulgar to say "bathroom".

now "restroom", that IS a euphemism. um, ;) I'm not so much resting there as expelling my body of waste at a rapid rate. I'm just sitting down because it's easier that way. as is "powder room"... like women have a whole room dedicated to just powder. we do our icky pissing business elsewhere. ;)


"family planning" isn't a euphemism. it's a term that's been created to encompass the wide range of