Microsoft Patent Deems Comic Books Shameful 209
theodp writes "A newly-surfaced Microsoft patent application describes methods of secretly matching up individuals whose shared 'fringe interests' might be 'a source of shame or embarrassment' to them should they become known to society-at-large. No, not sexual preferences. A much bigger taboo. Comic books. 'For example,' explains Microsoft in its filing, 'an ambitious professional is not likely to divulge that he likes, say, comic books, even though quite true. Appreciably, certain affinities especially those relating to fringe interests, eccentricities, or topics about which there is a common misconception or very little mainstream familiarity or understanding are generally omitted rather than included in conventional descriptions. Typically, this is so because these affinities might be a source of shame or embarrassment or incur undue explanation.'"
And I deem... (Score:3, Interesting)
And I deem patents shameful.
Sounds like a good idea to me... (Score:3, Interesting)
I used to have a big interest in the paranormal... I would never have listed it in a dating profile, but would have been interested in other people who were also into it. Now, not sure I like the label of "shameful"... but it was something I didn't want to just blurt out.
Re:People associate it wrongly (Score:4, Interesting)
Well, are you sure would really want to tell right away to some girl you meet that you read comic books or watch anime? Things like can make people think about you wrongly. And for example, when I'm visiting Thailand I like the ladyboys there, but it's not something I'd say to anyone when I first meet them.
Depends on context.
I'm not going to walk into a job interview and start telling them how much I love Minecraft and Dwarf Fortress, but that doesn't make it a dirty secret.
If I meet some random person on the street I'm not going to start talking about how much I love the ease of provisioning a new VM in our new cluster, but that doesn't make it a dirty secret.
And if I met some girl that I was attracted to (as you seem to be suggesting, rather than just some random acquaintance who happens to be female), I most certainly would tell them that I read comic books and watch anime.