Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

IBM's Teri-is-a-Girl-and-Terry-is-a-Boy Patent

Posted by kdawson on from the how-about-lee-and-robin dept.

theodp writes "The USPTO has granted IBM a patent for utilizing naming conventions to assign gender-based avatars for instant messaging. A user named Teri, IBM explains, would be given a girl avatar, while a user named Terry would be provided with a boy avatar. The three IBM 'inventors' were stymied by users named Pat, who as a result will be assigned a 'generic, genderless human figure image as his or her avatar.' Way to honor that significant-technical-content patent pledge, Big Blue!"

5 of 277 comments (clear)

  1. Re:So, what did they decide for... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    D'oe

  2. Re:English names only? by camperdave · · Score: 5, Funny

    Either way, Hua sounds feminine to me.

    You haven't seen many films about US marines, have you?

    --
    When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
  3. Re:English names only? by geminidomino · · Score: 5, Funny

    Doesn't matter. Anyone who calls himself "Legolas", l33t-crypted or not, deserves a gay furry avatar[0], and I'll stand by that assertion until the day I die.

    [0] Unless his parents gave him that name. Then he can be forgiven if he goes Menendez.

  4. Re:No one uses boring avatar names by dfm3 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Even then, assigning a male avatar is probably still a safe bet.

  5. Terry & Terry by BHS_Turf · · Score: 5, Funny

    Both my wife and I are named Terry, and yes, she took my last name. The running joke is that I get all the bills, and she gets all the cheques.