I spend a substantial amount of time either thinking about or working on Samosapedia, which is not surprising for any co-founder. Software alone is not really what keeps me busy. The very smart Braxton, who joined us because he loves the concept, stewards the code (Ruby on Rails straddling Heroku) really well, and puts up with our proclivity to IST with humor, which cemented our bond. The big questions to me include the editorial oversight needed to build the world’s largest cultural dictionary.

Let’s first touch very briefly on the imperfection of calling it The Definitive Guide to South Asian Lingo, since in choosing to call it that, we reveal something about ourselves as editors. One of the most priceless reactions we got to the term “South Asian” was “Aren’t South Asians Filipinos?” It turns out the term “South Asian” causes a small modicum of irritation and confusion. Other observations were that we shouldn’t use the term South Asian at all, but instead say “desi” or “Indian.” On this one, we’re sticking to our guns. There are enough commonalities linguistically and culturally, and enough radical differences, for us to be geographically inclusive on the site. The term “South Asia” may come from a taxonomy generated outside South Asia itself, but we can’t find a better, more inclusive term that matches our aspiration for a giant cultural dictionary. We’re ceasing to worry about labels. The existing one has been well received so far — thanks to our users, we have over 6000 entries now, and we’re going to keep on growing.

What becomes interesting is that sometimes, definitions aren’t merely objective. We don’t really want them to be objective, which is why we allow for multiple entries for a given term. Take for example entries like the one for the Jan Lokpal Bill, which as of this writing, still features prominently in popular press in India. One user’s idealism may test another user’s opinion on the whole approach taken by the bill, with the result being controversy. We welcome it — the lingo we’re collectively cataloging is multifarious, and controversy is the by product of engaged users. By that same token, one user’s humor may offend another. Here, we’ll traipse as lightly as possible, because we want to allow maximum self-expression, liberating language and encouraging our users to be creative and playful. Soon enough, we’ll also want to have users help with moderating words. It’s not just a dictionary we’re building here, but a community, responsible for its own editorial oversight, without the founders being gatekeepers.

Samosapedia has rapidly become a small anthology of South Asian writing, and makes people laugh, bringing delight and nostalgia (nostalgindia?). I am really excited about it, and about all the things we’re going to do with it in the future.

Thank you. For two years, you’ve put up with my jittery nagging a few hours before the panel, and for two years, it has rocked.

Dear Apple,

We really missed you. Our “Browser Wars” panel at SxSWi ’08 was standing room only, with people lining up outside who couldn’t get in. We discussed stuff that was really relevant to Safari, touching on mobility, standards, security, JavaScript, and stuff like that — PC Mag has a rough record of the conversation. People love your stuff — the MacBook Pro and the iPhone were ubiquitous at the Austin Convention Center. And while you are open in your standards participation (working groups like Web API and HTML conduct business in the open), and while you are candid on the Surfin’ Safari Weblog, it would be great if your PR / Marketing department could let you come out and play with us. Maybe next year?

Dear SxSWi 2008 Organizers,

You gave us a great time slot this year (thanks, Hugh!) — 2PM on Monday, which beats last year’s early morning time slot. And I recognize that organizing this conference is tough, and you guys do a great job every year. But maybe if we do this next time, you could get us a bigger room? People were literally turned away this year. Maybe if we had a bigger room, like some of the other panels, this wouldn’t be the case? Designers and developers are deeply interested in browsers and Web technology — they are fundamental to the often odd trade we ply.

Dear SxSWi Audience,

Thank you. You make the show, every year. You’ve shown that you will stage an insurrection if you aren’t treated with dignity and respect. Thank you for the great questions and the spirited hallway discussions. Thank you for discussing broader societal things as well, like gender bias, with such insightful analysis. May our tribe prosper, but prosper equitably.

Young-ish trendy persons with laptops and iPhones and loosely slung satchels meander around the Austin Convention Center. Panels are being held, and the sun is shining (mostly), and the after parties are kicking, and film makers, musicians, designers, and geeks are all coalescing, as per the norm.

Last year, I chaired a panel bringing Brendan Eich (Mozilla/Firefox, and inventor of JavaScript), Chris Wilson (Microsoft/IE, worked on every version of IE in recent memory), and Charles McCathieNevile (Opera — a standards titan who travels the world working on standards) to the table to discuss where the Web was going. It was a great panel discussion which embraced spirited debate.

A year has passed, and PC Magazine thinks we’re about ready to usher in the “boring era” of Web browsers. Really? A little bit like the End of History, where things were supposed to be all nice and boring after the end of the Cold War, but ended up being anything but?

OK, look. I’ll be the first to admit that the term “wars” shouldn’t be used when talking about Web browsers. This year, when I agreed to do the panel again at SxSW 2008, I used the term “war” to pack the auditorium. But let’s be frank about a few things.

Things have been a bit acrimonious lately, especially when we think about the future of JavaScript. Brendan lobbed one at Chris about (and I simplify greatly) C# vs. ECMAScript in an “Open Letter.” Chris lobbed one back, claiming he was being sincere and informal and non-corporate. Then, of course, there’s the fact that Opera’s complaining about Microsoft — in court!

The point is, we still have a lot to talk about. There are still vibrant differences about where the Web is really going and people are especially interested in web access from mobile devices. I wish Apple’s PR people would let their guys participate, but we’ll have to party without them. Come to our panel at SxSW 2008! I promise you a good time.

Now look –errare humanum est, right? Especially after a transatlantic flight, when you’re really, really tired and groggy? A sea of humans goes and stands in line behind various immigration counters, and I flow with them. I can’t really read the signs, since people are blocking the path ahead. And the lines are long.

As I near the counter, when I’m four people away from the end of the line, I notice that the sign on top of that particular counter says “EU Nationals Only.” And I glance a few lines to my right, and see a very long line of non-EU nationals, behind a counter that says “Non EU Nationals.” Whoops. I’m not an EU national — I have an Indian passport. What to do? I’m in some haste, since I don’t want to miss the connecting flight. Should I have gone to the back of the non-EU line, or waited to see what would happen at the end of the “EU Nationals Only” line? I wasn’t sure. I reasoned on the spot that the German official behind the “EU Only” line would perhaps stamp me through, but point out that I was in the wrong line. There was a chance that he would make me go to the back of the other line, but I was willing to take it.

It’s finally my turn, and I give him my passport.

“Wrong line, Mr. Gandhi” he says, and throws my passport back at me.

Umm, what?

“Gandhi?” I say stupidly?

“Yes, Mr. Gandhi. It’s zat line over zere. You go zere.”

I’m willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.

“Gandhi?” I ask again. But now, I’m stung. I’m feeling the helpless sting of racism, and it feels really bad.

“Go ZERE. To ZAT line.”

Don’t get me wrong — there are worse things than being called Mr. Gandhi. I mean, the movie won a lot of Oscars, the guy liberated a nation through non-violence, and his face is on money and stuff. But, shouldn’t an official of the German government not say things like that? Or was this all humorous, with me being a bad sport?

So I went to the back of the line, choosing to ignore the urge to grin ruefully and say “Thanks for the pointer, Mr. Sauerkraut.” Because at that very instant, I couldn’t think of a positive historical figure from Germany that was around at the same time as Gandhi was, so that’s the best I could come up with.

Ordinarily, that’s not really a topic I am likely to broach of my own accord. Mind you, I’m not reluctant to talk about race. If I was tongue-tied when put on the spot, it was mainly because my mental machinery takes time to warm up to the subject. This weekend, I distinctly felt that people were asking me my opinion because of my own melanin content — that is, because I’m Indian, the intrepid conversationalists assumed that (rightly or wrongly) I must have something interesting to say about the subject of race. And maybe that’s not a far-fetched assumption.

Something must be going on in the collective zeitgeist (and note that it’s also Black History Month). I got roped into two discussions on the subject, not to mention the fact that race issues featured at the Superbowl as well (e.g. see the numerous stories about the respective coaches). But here’s what happened this weekend, and here’s what motivates my current musings.

While getting my hair cut in Noe on Saturday, my barber talked about race relations in New Orleans. She described affluent white families who would “deb” their daughters during Mardi Gras on floats, and about the snide comments she endured about having a black boyfriend.

Then, a few hours later, an acquaintance of T’s enthusiastically solicited my opinion on the Shilpa Shetty/Celebrity Big Brother UK maelstrom. Wasn’t it terrible the way some people in the UK viewed Indians, he wanted to know? I hemmed and hawed, but didn’t really commit to a stance on the subject. I couldn’t, at that instant, come up with a way to express my view. Was it a tempest in a teapot, or a huge deal? Governments were involved (with Indian government officials expressing concern to UK officials), and effigies were burnt. What did I think?

I don’t have to go to England to get my fix. Closer to home, Senator Joe Biden gaffed off with suspicious condescension about “Indian accents” in 7-Elevens and Dunkin’ Donuts, and followed that up by saying something really dumb about Barack Obama. And who can forget the Macaca thing? Even Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google, mentioned it!

I was tongue-tied during these conversations because some of these issues are complicated, and aren’t just black and white (!), whereas some are pretty clear cut. New Orleans sounds like a place with clearly demarcated race lines — I still haven’t been (I really want to), and I wonder what The Flood has done to historic divides. In Big Brother UK, Jane Goody comes across as a grotty little woman, and she appears to have ganged up on Shilpa Shetty with a group of other women in a pretty spiteful, vindictive manner. But was it racism or merely ignorance, coupled with petty meanness? And what’s the difference exactly?

In Big Brother UK, Jo O’Meara asks whether it was in India or China that people ate with their hands. This was part of an extraordinary supposition she made about Indians being skinny because they undercook their food (and later she insisted this was a compliment). That’s probably ignorance. It’s annoying to deal with, but it’s not hateful. It’s not like Michael Richards exploding on stage with scalding, hate-filled fury.

I’d say the Big Brother UK issue basically unmasked class divides and paraded a lot of ignorance. But it also unmasked something that I’d call activist sensitivity. Shilpa Shetty herself insisted, in the final analysis, that the whole thing wasn’t racially motivated, and that she wants to leave the whole thing behind her. This irritated her so-called supporters, who were keen on rallying behind some sort of cause celebre. Shilpa attributed the whole rift in the house to a profound lack of education (one of Jane Goody’s claims to fame is her weak vocabulary), which I’m likely to do as well. So if Shilpa’s moving on and not calling it racism but merely ignorant meanness, why can’t others? Why insist on finding, in an epically silly TV show, evidence of a Big White Hater (and note that the infamous Goody has Caribbean ancestry)? That’s what I mean by activist sensitivity — what motivates it, exactly? Why not agree to let it go at the right time?

There are issues not accounted for by the arbitrary divide I’ve created between ignorance/racism. There are subtle questions of taste, which no person has a monopoly on. Is it cool to make fun of an Indian accent, like Danielle did in Big Brother? I remember laughing till it hurt when I watched Peter Sellers’ “The Party.” I wasn’t offended. Sellers later did a German accent (amongst others!) in “Dr. Strangelove” and of course, there’s his Clusoe in the “Pink Panther” series. I love those movies, to this day. But I remember listening to a South Asian actor in LA bemoaning the constant “South Asian Minstrel Shows” by way of screenplays and plots that he was asked to look at; he felt too type cast for different roles. Hollywood has to move beyond the stereotype. Recently, at a big international conference, I was introduced by a friend of mine before I spoke. He put on an Indian accent to introduce me before the delegates. Sure, I laughed at the Indian shtick. It was done with enough affection to off-set the question of taste, but it made me really nervous suddenly. I spoke really fast during my panel discussion. It showed. Was I contributing to base stereotypes by rolling with it? And where do you draw the line? It’s a question of taste, and I leave that one hanging. My own feelings are clearly mixed. We should laugh at ourselves — I mean, we ARE kind of funny sometimes (and I use the royal we, and it’s an all-inclusive we that includes YOU). But there’s a but.

Bad TV in the UK gives me a metaphor to frame Joe Biden’s gaffes. His gaffes exemplify more ignorance still (like Goody and O’Meara), and not racism (as I see it), and are also just signs of really bad taste. I’m not hurt by his stupid statement, just really disappointed. Biden’s just not a funny guy, even if Jon Stewart cut him some slack. As for George Allen, I’m not so sure — I don’t think I can dismiss him as a mere ignoramus. His “America and the real world of Virginia” don’t sound like inclusive places.

Maybe that’s why I was muted this weekend. I have a LOT to say, apparently. By genetic design, a vox populi poll of the masses on the question of race is likely to reveal a riotous diversity of answers. Nestled among some of the many answers, I have no doubt there will be questions of ignorance, taste, and maybe even more complex elements, like outright bias and activist sensitivity.

[fr] Pour les francophones: a propos de tout ca, on me dit que Kamini est partout! Il est rigolo