Consider speciesist language in documentation #9029
Description
Summary
npm's documentation reaches virtually every JavaScript developer. This proposal suggests adding speciesist language awareness — avoiding animal-derived idioms that normalize violence toward animals — to documentation writing practices.
Context
The npm ecosystem has already adopted inclusive terminology changes (master→main). Speciesist language is a natural extension:
| Instead of | Use |
|---|---|
| "kill two birds with one stone" | "accomplish two things at once" |
| "beat a dead horse" | "belabor the point" |
| "monkey patch" | "runtime patch" |
| "guinea pig" | "test subject" |
| "canary release" | "preview release" |
These alternatives are more precise and more accessible to non-native English speakers — important for npm's global developer community.
References
- Hagendorff et al. 2023, "Speciesist bias in AI," AI and Ethics (DOI: 10.1007/s43681-023-00380-w)
- Open-Paws/speciesist-language-scanner — automated detection tooling
- eslint-plugin-speciesism — ESLint plugin for JS/TS projects
This is about awareness for new writing, not a retroactive overhaul.