Microsoft Apologizes For Inserting Naughty Phrase Into Linux Kernel

netbuzz writes "Microsoft has apologized and promised to rectify the fact that one of its developers slipped a sexist phrase into Linux kernel code supporting Microsoft's HyperV virtualization environment. In that code, the magic constant passed through to the hypervisor reads '0xB16B00B5,' or a slightly camouflaged 'BIG BOOBS.' After Linux developer/blogger Matthew Garrett criticized Microsoft for the stunt, the predictable debate over sexism in the technology world ensued. Microsoft issued a statement to Network World apologizing and added, 'We have submitted a patch to fix this issue and the change will be published in a future release of the kernel.'"

Comments

0xB16B00B5

[Jobless Fellatio]

Excuse me but could someone clarify how is "big boobs" sexist phrase? It might mean either gender. For statistical reasons I can verify that my own boobs are often larger than I see on females.

Re:0xB16B00B5

[Anonymous Coward]

I'm sorry, but I can't take you serious on this subject because of your nickname.

Re:0xB16B00B5

[jellomizer]

For statistical reasons woman boobs are bigger then mens.

Re:0xB16B00B5

[Anonymous Coward]

If it somehow read 'BIG BICEPS' would anyone care?

Bug reporters, I hope...

Re:0xB16B00B5

[Anonymous Coward]

Yes: it's not sexist, it's just lewd. It's also an irrelevant distinction.

Re:0xB16B00B5

[PraiseBob]

I think 0xB16BA115 would be the most appropriate analogy

Re:0xB16B00B5

[Idaho]

Next up: vegetarians against using 0xdeadbeef to detect memory corruption? Well, Fuck me gently with a chainsaw!

Re:0xB16B00B5

[Archangel Michael]

Some are held for charity ...

Re:0xB16B00B5

[cpu6502]

I've always preferred 0x5MA11B00B5 myself.

Re:0xB16B00B5

[Anonymous Coward]

LOL, hy-perv

Re:0xB16B00B5

[Sebastopol]

This is a common question when talking about privilege: if group X is offended by statement A about X, and group Y is NOT offended by the same statement A aimed Y, then X should STFU.

First, you're trying to tell someone how to feel. Examine how well you personally respond to being told how to feel because you're too stupid to understand something others consider obvious.

Second, this logical comparison only works when neither group is routinely marginalized and demeaned by a pervasive institutional bias.

Re:0xB16B00B5

[Anonymous Coward]

that M is however very hard to squeese into a hex number like that :-)

Re:0xB16B00B5

[Anonymous Coward]

I've always preferred 0x5MA11B00B5 myself.

What base are you using?

Re:0xB16B00B5

[crakbone]

What is sexist is not one of the people here thought the coder might have been bragging. Not one person even thought the coder could be a woman. It was just instantly a guy being sexist.

Re:0xB16B00B5

[Applekid]

Maybe it's in base 36

Re:0xB16B00B5

[aaaaaaargh!]

So the phrase "Sorry, I have my period" is sexist?

I knew it, I knew it!

Re:0xB16B00B5

[Kate6]

It's sexist in that if a very talented woman programmer was going around hacking in the kernel and found it, it might make her feel uncomfortable.  As such, it contributes to the feeling that Linux kernel development is an area in which women aren't welcome...  And believe it or not, sort of thing is the reason why there are so few female programmers.  Our "tiny female brains" can cope with the actual work *just fine*.  :)

Re:0xB16B00B5

[mydn]

This is what you get when you have teenagers in their parents basement writing your operating system. You would get more professional behavior from a large, established corporation.
Oh, wait...

Re:0xB16B00B5

[meerling]

Maybe, but they're both running on silicon.

Re:0xB16B00B5

[Anonymous Coward]

Or maybe you are being overly sensitive.

This is at worst childish, not sexist.
Anyone who sees it as sexist is trolling for attention or is trying to make herself feel special.
Your own feelings about linux kernel development have very little significance toward linux development.
You are here LOOKING for sexism.
You are seeing the world through sexism-coloured glasses.
It's ridiculous.
Stop.

Re:0xB16B00B5

[cpu6502]

I took technical writing in college, and we had a female professor teaching the class: Dana Witmer. One of my lab partners got the bright idea to name the technical file "dirtydana" which I have to admit was funny, but I stopped laughing when they told me they *handed it in* with that name.

About a week later the professor met with all the students and commented that our filename was "interesting" and then started giggling. Not all women are uptight over trivial stuff.

As for WHY women don't like engineering/programming, I think it's because they are smart. They are smart enough not to go into such a boring field where the managers or HR treat you like low-level employees to be shoved into basement offices & worked 50 hours w/o overtime pay.

Re:0xB16B00B5

[garett_spencley]

"but honestly I can't imagine very many of us are actually truly completely comfortable with the idea of people we aren't reasonably intimate with commenting on our chests."

No one has said anything about commenting on the size of a specific individual's chest. If it were personal I could understand how it would make someone feel uncomfortable, but I still wouldn't consider it "sexist" because it would also make me feel uncomfortable if someone were to comment on the size of my nose or my waist line.

"Professionalism dictates keeping this sort of thing out of the workplace."

I disagree with that profoundly. The most productive professional environment is one in which everyone gets along, has a good time and enjoys what they're doing. If certain individuals feel uncomfortable it is either because they are being singled out or bullied unfairly (in which case there is something wrong with the environment) or they have a personal problem with the way the business is run (which does not necessarily mean there's something wrong with the individual, just that it's not a good fit).

Femminism is supposed to be about equality and social change, right ? Then here's a social "problem" I would like the change: the complete double-standard backwardness that has been instituted in the name of "feminism." For example: if a guy expresses his sexuality or his sexual nature in any way he is labeled a "pig" but if a woman does it it's applauded as "liberating."

I was raised by a single mom with a tremendous amount of support from her single mom. Both describe themselves as "feminists." Both also talk about "patriarchy" but as a male who was born after 1980 I gotta say ... I don't see it. In fact, I see the trend going in the opposite direction.

The people who I find to be most "sexist" are self-proclaimed "feminists." They constantly draw attention to the differences between the sexes, and by appropriating a title such as "feminism" (emphasis on the root "fem") they are taking a position that there is an inherent conflict between the two sexes, that sides must be chosen and they have chosen the side of women. The foundation of the philosophy is not unifying but polarizing. If they had any pretense of "equality" they would identify themselves as "egalitarian." If they had a pretense about equal rights under the law whilst respecting (or celebrating) natural differences that exist between all individuals they would identify themselves as individualist. Instead they keep dragging the issue of gender through the mud and make everyone, male and female alike, uncomfortable.

Re:0xB16B00B5

[FatdogHaiku]

Maybe it's in base 36

In this thread I would think it obligatory to go all the way to base 69.

Re:0xB16B00B5

[GNUALMAFUERTE]

Not my style. I own a software company (well, we are manufacturing our own hardware too now , but we're still mostly a software company).

Sure, we hire good coders, but we hire good people, and that's above your coding ability. We have a great environment, and we don't want to spoil it with PC bullshit. We are animals, and so are most of our employees, and we'd like to keep it that way. And you wouldn't believe how much of an awesome environment you can get when people can be themselves, and not worry about what they can and can't do/say/wear/express/whatever. That's why we only hire non-religious people, people who aren't afraid of bad language, rough attitudes, bad smells, and that usually translates to people that isn't afraid of hard work either.

At my company, we troll each other badly, there are no limits, there is no respect for anybody, not even for the owners (my associate and me). Yes, when I fuck up my employees feel free to insult me, and I couldn't be happier about it. I enjoy the same freedom. We get together once a week for bbq and zombie movies. We have a basketball court in the back, and we play rough. Believe it or not, people is actually happy to come in to work on monday, because they feel fucking free. Many of them (specially those that are married) feel more free than they do at home. In our company, the lowest tech calls the CEO a fag for using apple products, and we all laugh, and that's just fine. Getting offended is GREAT. In our culture, this idea that people have a right to not be offended has grown big lately. It's plain wrong. Being offended makes you feel alive, challenges your preconceptions, and makes you overall a better person. It sparks change, and that is always a good thing.

We spend most of our life at work, mostly because it's what we love doing, it's our project, our company, regardless of how much stock you own. Keeping it _just_ professional would be a complete waste of your time.

Re:0xB16B00B5

[TheRaven64]

As a vegetarian, I am offended that Microsoft's implementation marks free'd memory with 0xDEADBEEF! I demand that this be changed to something that won't offend me! Or Hindus! Or people with irrational dislike of certain numbers when represented in hex!

Wait, "big boobs" is sexist now?

[crazyjj]

Seems like just yesterday it was just immature. Soon even the word "sexist" will be sexist.

Re:Wait, "big boobs" is sexist now?

[NFN_NLN]

I wonder if PETA will complain about 0xDEADBEEF?

I've seen that used often.

Re:Wait, "big boobs" is sexist now?

[camperdave]

Personally, I find it offensive that big boobs is now sexist. What about us guys with big boobs?

I'm pretty sure most would find that offensive as well.

Re:Wait, "big boobs" is sexist now?

[Anonymous Coward]

Just to stop the crap, here's the rest from wikipedia.

Many computer processors, operating systems, and debuggers make use of magic numbers, especially as a magic debug value.
0x8BADF00D ("ate bad food") is used by Apple in iOS crash reports, when an application takes too long to launch, terminate, or respond to system events.[1]
0x1BADB002 ("I bad boot"[citation needed]) Multiboot header magic number.[2]
0xB16B00B5 ("big boobs") is required by Microsoft's Hyper-V hypervisor to be used by Linux guests as their "guest signature".[3]
0xBAADF00D ("bad food") is used by Microsoft's LocalAlloc(LMEM_FIXED) to indicate uninitialised allocated heap memory when the debug heap is used.[4]
0xBADDCAFE ("bad cafe") is used by Libumem to indicate uninitialized memory area
0xCAFEBABE ("cafe babe") is used by Mach-O to identify Universal object files, and by the Java programming language to identify Java bytecode class files.[5]
0xCAFED00D ("Cafe Dude") is used by Java as a magic number for their pack200 compression.[6]
0xD15EA5E ("disease") is a flag that indicates regular boot on the Nintendo GameCube and Wii consoles.[7][8]
0xDEADBABE ("Dead Babe") is used by IBM Jikes RVM as a sanity check of the stack of the primary thread [9]
0xDEADBEEF ("dead beef") is frequently used to indicate a software crash or deadlock in embedded systems. DEADBEEF was originally used to mark newly allocated areas of memory that had not yet been initialized -- when scanning a memory dump, it is easy to see the DEADBEEF. It is used by IBM RS/6000 systems, Mac OS on 32-bit PowerPC processors and the Commodore Amiga as a magic debug value. On Sun Microsystems' Solaris, it marks freed kernel memory. On OpenVMS running on Alpha processors, DEAD_BEEF can be seen by pressing CTRL-T. The DEC Alpha SRM console has a background process that traps memory errors, identified by PS as "BeefEater waiting on 0xdeadbeef".[10]
0xDEADDEAD ("dead dead") is the bug check (STOP) code displayed when invoking a Blue Screen of Death either by telling the kernel via the attached debugger, or by using a special keystroke combination.[11] This is usually seen by driver developers, as it is used to get a memory dump on Windows NT based systems. An alternative to 0xDEADDEAD is the bug check code 0x000000E2,[12] as they are both called MANUALLY_INITIATED_CRASH as seen on the Microsoft Developer Network.
0xDEADFA11 ("dead fall") is used by Apple in iOS crash reports, when the user force quits an application.[1]
0xDEFEC8ED ("defecated") is the magic number for OpenSolaris core dumps.[13]
0xFACEFEED ("face feed") is used by Alpha servers running Windows NT. The Alpha Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL) generates this error when it encounters a hardware failure.[14]
0xFEE1DEAD ("feel dead") is used as a magic number in the Linux reboot system call.[15]
0xE011CFD0 is used as magic number for Microsoft Office files. In little endian this reads D0CF11E0, "docfile0".[16]
0x0000000FF1CE ("office") is used as the last part of product codes (guid) for Microsoft Office components (visible in registry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall registry key).
0x00BAB10C ("oo-ba-block") is used as the magic number for the ZFS uberblock.
C15C:0D06:F00D ("cisco dog food") used in the IPv6 address of www.cisco.com on World IPv6 Day. "Dog food" refers to Cisco eating its own dog food with IPv6.
face:b00c ("facebook") used in the IPv6 address of www.v6.facebook.com

Re:Wait, "big boobs" is sexist now?

[Kalten]

Nah. 0xDECAFBAD.

If It Had Been Anyone Else

[Anonymous Coward]

but Microsoft, the "Linux blogger" would have had a big laugh and thought how clever those Linux chaps are.

Linux kernel's code is full of naughty words

[Anonymous Coward]

Just check the Linux kernel swear count: http://www.vidarholen.net/contents/wordcount/

Re:That's not sexist!

[Anonymous Coward]

My first reaction to this thread was to "Gee, I wish Slashdot allowed for the posting of inline images."

Ballmer's got 'em, after all.

...never mind.

HyPerv?

[Speare]

So now we will be calling it "Hy Perv"?

As with all of the feminist jokes, the punchline is: That's not funny!

Re:HyPerv?

[sconeu]

As in...

Q: How many feminists does it take to change a lightbulb?
A: THAT'S NOT FUNNY!!!!

Oh come on.

[jerpyro]

Ok, what Microsoft-hating oversensitive soapbox preacher thought "Hmm, Microsoft must be trying to sabotage our pristine kernel!!1!"

Programmers leave inside jokes. Usually in comments, sometimes variable names, and sometimes in arbitrary values. I'm sure more than one group had a good laugh about the thing on both sides of the wall. If I had a nickel for every time I saw a comment or variable name that could be interpreted as 'offensive' I'd be a rich man. As long as it's not directed at someone (I've seen those too) or hate speech of some kind, just let it go.

One of the reasons that I enjoy programming is because you can embed little jokes into the source without end users noticing -- they're like easter eggs.

Aaaand now feel free to wreck my karma, mods :-p

The patched code

[Sqr(twg)]

#define HV_LINUX_GUEST_ID_HI 2976579765 /* That better, fuckers? */

Not getting it...

[jythie]

I think what I find depressing.... in these discussions you see many people pointing out that they don't get it, they don't understand why it is a big deal, etc...

You know what, that is a great thing to say, a great thing to admit. Stop there.

I think what is infuriating to many is people start with "I don't understand" then proceed to "therefor it doesn't matter". Telling people how they should feel about things that you can't understand is the hight of arrogance. Maybe instead these people should take some time and listen, and just accept that other people are impacted by things like this and just because you are not doesn't mean they shouldn't be.

You don't get it. Fine. Then don't tell other people how to feel. Women don't need your big smart male brain to explain how their poor womanly one should react to things that relate to experiences men don't have.

Re:Not getting it...

[MBGMorden]

I can respect your opinion, but to a large degree I think we as a society have just gotten too sensitive. That's not a problem that is inherent to women, men, old people, young people, or any particular ethnic group. Its a problem we have all developed.

Yes, it was a childish and stupid prank. Its not something I'd do and I'd wonder about the maturity level of anyone that would stick such rubbish into a piece of code.

That said, it's gotten to the point lately where it seems that the primary occupation of people is to go around looking for things to be offended by. People are so insecure and unhappy in their lives that they need to generate controversy on a regular interval. Every action anyone takes is carefully scrutinized for any hint of content that is currently accepted as "offensive" because no opportunity to be offended can be passed up.

Whether its claiming that gay marriage is an affront to nature or "BIG BOOBS" slipping into the kernel as an immature joke, just learn to ignore something if you don't like it folks.

Re:Not getting it...

[Hatta]

I'm a male, but to me, it's just a matter of respect for other people.

I find that people who truly respect others the most don't mind when they engage in a little harmless fun. Prudery is caused by respect for the rules, not respect for people, and is ultimately selfish. "If I can't laugh about it, nobody should."

Re:Not getting it...

[Rockoon]

YOU don't see anything wrong with it. YOU aren't offended by it. That's very nice and all, but

I both am not offended by it nor do I see something wrong with it. You do realize that these two things are not the same, right?

Your entire post is based on the premise that if someone is offended by something, then there is something wrong with that something. It is that premise that is whats wrong.

You are advocating the politically correct version of the thought police, but instead of telling people how they should think.. you are trying to tell people that they cant induce particular thoughts ("offended") in others. How dare I alter someones thoughts to a mode of being offended.. right? How dare I?

Did it ever occur to you that the "wrong" part in this whole ordeal (besides your entire post) is that someone got offended in the first place? If someone gets offended easily we call it a disorder. Hypersensitive blah blah and all that. You are suggesting that its normal to be offended by some thing, just not a lot of things. Those facts are not in evidence.

I suggest that its always wrong to be offended.. that its always a psychosis. What happens inside your head is your business, not mine. Dont make it mine. you wont like that.

Why yes, I *am* being a pedantic git :-)

[Dogtanian]

For statistical reasons woman boobs are bigger then mens.

No, women's breasts are (statistically) larger than mens for evolutionary reasons, not statistical ones. In fact, I doubt that statistics themselves have much effect on breast size at all!:-)

What a boob you made of that... (^_^)

Re:Why yes, I *am* being a pedantic git :-)

[hawguy]

For statistical reasons woman boobs are bigger then mens.

No, women's breasts are (statistically) larger than mens for evolutionary reasons, not statistical ones. In fact, I doubt that statistics themselves have much effect on breast size at all!:-)
 

Statistically, some women obtain big boobs because they believe that statistically speaking, they will be able to attract a better mate with larger boobs.

So an argument could be made that, on average, women's boobs are statistically larger due to statistics.

Re:Why yes, I *am* being a pedantic git :-)

[alexo]

surveys have been constantly reporting that the ideal breast size is 'C' in terms of aesthetic appeal.

Eat that, Java advocates!

Sexism in tech

[thesandtiger]

There is enough real sexism that runs throughout tech circles that bringing up stupid things like this does nothing but give deniers more ammunition to point to when dismissing any charges of sexism as stupid.

I am a woman, I used to work in tech (and now do tech for research academics), and I have experienced a pretty large amount of sexist behavior in my career, from the merely annoying ("you must be the secretary" "no, I'm the team lead") to the work affecting and frustrating ("let me condescendingly explain this incredibly simple thing to you and completely tune out anything you're saying because girls are dumb") to the incredibly fucking horrifying ("you should be raped for doing this that way" "stupid cunt" - yes, both said by people I was collaborating with, and the repercussions to them weren't nearly as severe as they should have been for such a transgression).

A variable named big boobs is so not even on my fucking radar and is so fucking stupid to even mention that I'm actually kind of pissed so anyone even mentioned it. It's dumb and childish to put it in in the first place, but who cares?

Re:Sexism in tech

[thesandtiger]

I will make an exception to the rule I have of not responding to ACs because you do raise a good point:

No, your daughter absolutely should not be subject to objectification like this and I sincerely hope that she never has to be.

What I am getting at, however, is that there's a kind of threshold that people need to be able to stomach and are kind of expected to stomach in any workplace or on any team.

There is a basic level of hazing where things are, generally, innocuous enough to be brushed off as "stupid and immature and something to let slide as long as it doesn't go past that point" that a well adjusted person can deal with. In my opinion - and everyone will have a different threshold - this falls well under that threshold. I routinely see guys making jokes of a similar level of indecency and immaturity at each other and often far, far more directed at an individual. In this particular case, it's just a generally stupid background noise statement about boobs.

The thing is, I would have no problem with an article that discusses what are called "micro-aggressions" (of which this was just one) and the cumulative effect of a lot of these micro-aggressions on the overall culture. The problem here is that this was one example, that, on its own, is just goofy to single out and get angry over.

I know that these kinds of things don't happen in a vacuum - I know that "bigboobs" is not even a snowflake on the tip of the iceberg of absolutely repugnant misogyny and sexist behaviors that go on. BUT, I also know that the people who are largely responsible for perpetuating that kind of environment are either incredibly hateful assholes or people who really, honestly, don't see how this kind of thing adds up and can lead to a horrifying environment.

For the ones who are hateful assholes, it's extremely unlikely that bothering to point it out will make them change. But for the ones who are just ignorant, it *can* be part of a compelling argument that gets them to change. Where the problem comes in here is that in and of itself, the "bigboobs" thing is not a compelling argument that sexism exists, and it absolutely should be put in a larger context if it gets mentioned.

So, I think that bringing things like this - in aggregate, rather than as individual items - can be a good thing, but complaining about one specific instance that is this generally innocuous outside of any context that it comes off as one of those "first world problems" like "sometimes I only get 4 bars on my iPhone when I'm on the subway" to people who really don't understand the larger problem and how this kind of thing can lead to badness.

Re:Bad title

[GameboyRMH]

"Microsoft Apologizes for Sticking Big Boobs in Linux Kernel Devs' Faces" The Register-style.

Re:Completely out of context

[b4dc0d3r]

I think you accidentally got to the real heart of the issue. Microsoft has to keep up appearances, as an established corporation. But this code was not written in the open source world, not for Linux, and not intended to be distributed at all. It was supposed to be hidden in the basement.

Microsoft was forced to release this code because they released binaries built with GPL components. Those binaries were to make Linux work well with Microsoft's hypervisor. Not to make Linux look good, but to make virtual Linux useable enough that they keep paying for a Windows host license (on the next server, or OS upgrade).

This magic number is a guest OS ID definition for Microsoft's Hyper-V. As far as anyone knows, this might be a magic value already in place in some of Microsoft's code, and they had to use the same value in the Linux implementation. If that's not the case, it's still internal code that they had no intention of releasing as source.

My guess is that someone who doesn't respect Linux intentionally violated the identity convention. In that case, it's not about sexism at all. Substituting a childish phrase for an operating system ID is about respect for the product, and little if anything to do with respect for women. If a woman wants to see it as offensive that is perfectly valid. But from what I can tell not the intent at all.

The "predictable debate over sexism in the technology world" is being driven by people who take things out of context for the increased page loads. It could very well be told as "Source code divulged after GPL violation reveals Microsoft employs at least one immature developer." But the focus on sexism almost makes the ads click themselves.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux_kernel#Hyper-V_submission_by_Microsoft

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/hardware/ff542653(v=vs.85).aspx