Apple's Secret Word List Flags "Trump" as Sensitive, but Not Biden or Putin
I Dumped Apple's Fucking Word List
Helge Sverre dug into macOS's private Lexicon.framework and dumped Apple's hidden word-flagging system. Every dictionary entry carries tier flags (vulgar, offensive, sensitive) and topic bits (sex, drugs, politics, etc.), with no public API. The en_US list tags 1,050 words as vulgar, 663 as offensive, and 2,558 as sensitive. Bizarre picks include Oedipus as vulgar, Tom and Mick as offensive, and Trump as the only living politician in the sensitive tier alongside Hitler and Mao.
And "Trump" is the only living politician in the English sensitive tier, next to Hitler, Mao, Osama bin Laden and the Taliban. Biden, Obama and Putin are clean.
- nonethewiser
There is a lot more interesting stuff to mine from this.
The phrase blocklist for the Chinese lanaguge is a lot larger (surprise, surprise). It about 281 KB for Simplified Chinese, 325 KB for Traditional and 160 KB for Cantonese, against 28 KB for English.
apparently there are `shouldShowTaiwanFlagEmoji()` and `deviceIsChinese()` functions as well but that doesn't have anything to do with this database.
- rappatic
> I dumped Apple's word list
Claude dumped Apple's word list, and obviously wrote the article too.
- verytrivial
I have a MacBook that was meant to replace my aging Windows and Linux laptops. This article is a microcosm of why I have just stopped using it. An endless stream of mollycoddling, obfuscation and "It's for your own good, child" trash. I can't even bring myself to sell it because I'm ashamed of it.
- jmbwell
This is about autocorrect learning words you like to use that it should consider potentially intentional use of words it might otherwise think you typed accidentally
It’s adaptive non-censorship
- thinkingemote
Would it be possible to get versions of the files to see when certain words got added and I imagine certain words got removed? Could be interesting to correlate certain events, personalities, trends, memes, controversies etc with the changes.
It was added in 23 so there's potentially 3 years of updates.
Edits: This comment shows differences between 15.6 and 26.2 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50358223