“Comprehensible only to those inside”
Danah Boyd’s strained metaphors for modern corporations as geopolitical entities are pretty funny—
Microsoft is Germany. They did some pretty evil things a while back but you don’t remember the details, you just know that you really hate them. Even though they’re really no worse than any other large corporpation/country, you can’t help but distrust them permanently because, well, you always have.
Google is the United States. It has never seen trouble on home turf. It is arrogant and loved by the elite. You know you’re supposed to respect them for being better than everyone else, because they think they are, but you actually kinda resent them for being so rich and powerful. Yet, you really like their cool toys.
—but Danny O’Brien’s addition is not to be missed:
Sun is France. Big, bit slow these days, defends against accusations of evil by referring to its part in a revolution hundreds of years ago that no-one but them now remembers. Own evil propensities overshadowed by outrage whenever any one else wanders from true path.
Keep on going on about how great their language is.