suntzu3000 writes: Andrew Tomazos, a long-time contributor to the ISO C++ standards committee, recently published a technical paper titled The Undefined Behavior Question . The paper explores the semantics of undefined behavior in C++ and examines this topic in the context of related research. However, controversy arose regarding the paper’s title.
Some critics pointed out similarities between the title and Karl Marx’s 1844 essay On The Jewish Question , as well as the historical implications of the Jewish Question, a term associated with debates and events leading up to World War II. This led to accusations that the title was “historically insensitive.”
In response to requests to change the title, Mr. Tomazos declined, stating that “We cannot allow such an important word as ‘question’ to become a form of hate speech.” He argued that the term was used in its plain, technical sense and had no connection to the historical context cited by critics.
Following this decision, Mr. Tomazos was expelled from the Standard C++ Foundation, and his membership in the ISO WG21 C++ Standards Committee was revoked.
