I'd learned about this last week, and this stuff is a bunch of Wikipedia searches so forgive me if I miss anything :]
Similar to git master and whitelist/blacklist having addressed racist origins, I've just learned that "ricing" -- i.e. way-far-from-default, colorfully souped-up *nix customizations -- came from a derogatory word for Asian "riced out" cars.
(click to enlarge spot where I came to learn about this)
Example in the lemmy.ml/c/linux community.
![](https://lemmy.ml/api/v3/image_proxy?url=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscuss.tchncs.de%2Fpictrs%2Fimage%2F367f2000-51f4-4b1d-9452-9bf2085cd929.png)
![](https://lemmy.ml/api/v3/image_proxy?url=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscuss.tchncs.de%2Fpictrs%2Fimage%2F760d2858-c56c-4421-b0d7-ddbdfcfa517e.png)
The linked Wikipedia article doesn't list *nix ricing specifically, but it's probably not a far reach -- for example, tech's master-slave came from cars too.
Now I'm not here to start a debate on whether the term itself is bad. The arguments are done to death and predictable (old thread~hope~ ~I~ ~can~ ~link~ ~here~). Rather, I posit that we could probably invent a new term if we forced it hard enough.
For example, 4chan forcibly invented the use of the ok hand for "white power", as a collective prank (Wikipedia).
Further, Tumblr invented 'then beg' as an insult response to 'I beg your pardon/to differ'. (click to enlarge)
Based on Pukicho.
![](https://lemmy.ml/api/v3/image_proxy?url=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscuss.tchncs.de%2Fpictrs%2Fimage%2F33e0a48c-e47b-45da-b028-c59aa354ccad.png)
So why can't Lemmy invent something too?
Here are some earlier takes. (click to enlarge for source, but they are listed below anyway)
![](https://lemmy.ml/api/v3/image_proxy?url=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscuss.tchncs.de%2Fpictrs%2Fimage%2Fd01af11e-236e-4702-b8d8-b80e8b00f530.png)
I surmise it has to be (1) somewhat unique and (2) short and nounable/verbable.
- Customization doesn't fit -- it's too broad. Changing the wallpaper is a customization -- diagonalizing your screen is a rice (term to be replaced...).
- Bespoke doesn't fit either. That's for a duct-tape script you hack together.
- Pimping out... is not a good alternative. It preexists^(citation^ ^needed?)^ and has inertia but it's not any better.
- Souping up... doesn't roll off the tongue so much. But it's food-related (and thus not far from "rice"). Though I can't see myself saying "Yo, check out this epic soup."
Brainstorming welcome :P