Is this you? Discover the impact your life has had on others.

October 7, 2009 7:10 PM

Is this you? Discover the impact your life has had on others.
Odbody.com is a recently launched site that aims to keep a visual, connected record of members life stories and show the impact they've had on others. Are you in the list of people members of the site want to thank for inspiring them?

It also has a facility to try and track down that stranger who made a difference.

There's more about the thinking behind the site in our blog.

posted by MintSauce (8 comments total)

Nice idea; however, it's not a good idea to have a menu for Skin Colour that includes "Oceanic" (what does that mean??), "Oriental" (racist connotations), and "Asian" (Central? South? South-East? North? East?).
posted by divabat at 12:56 AM on October 8, 2009

Oceanic and Asian were based on the (loose) continent names. I'm not sure I see the racist connotation of 'Oriental'. We're trying to use very open descriptions, as quite often people are describing people they only met briefly - but I do appreciate that there is potential for improvement. Thanks for your feedback :)
posted by MintSauce at 7:52 AM on October 8, 2009

MintSauce - it might be a regional thing; in the US, "Oriental" is seen as a very outdated term with some unpleasant cultural connotations, sort of like the word "coloured" being used in reference to black people, or "redskin" in reference to a Native American.
posted by muddgirl at 8:38 AM on October 8, 2009

I'm not sure I see the racist connotation of 'Oriental'.

Definitely archaic and somewhat offensive, having been applied to both people and decorative objects that were in any way non-specifically non-Western for centuries. It's not only regional; you find that it's discouraged in style guides in print media and definitely in academic settings across the US.
posted by Miko at 7:13 PM on October 13, 2009

Miko - by "regional" I mean the region of "US and Canada" vs. the region of the United Kingdom. Not regional within the US.
posted by muddgirl at 8:22 PM on October 13, 2009

(The current users of the site seem to be primarily from the UK.)
posted by muddgirl at 8:24 PM on October 13, 2009

I'm Asian living in Australia and I find it not only offensive, but also not really very descriptive of anything.
posted by divabat at 12:05 AM on October 14, 2009

The site is based in the UK, where the term is not commonly considered offensive. However we obviously have a worldwide reach. I'll pass your comments on. My apologies if we did inadvertently cause any offence, it was entirely unintended.
posted by MintSauce at 1:43 AM on October 14, 2009