Controversial Slang Debate

Because it's being used as an (unoriginal) term of abuse.

Sounds like an elaborate way of saying "it's shit.".

It's intentionally obscure, it's basically a safeword for young kids that enjoy torturing each other in one way or another. You're getting piled on for being weirdly critical about something you clearly don't understand.

It looks like somebody trying to be clever. It's an obfuscation of the word 'pussy'

Yes, seriously. It's just a word, like "sis" or "gal" or "the", and has no inherent negative or positive connotations.Somebody has invented drama around this word, some other people have bought into it, and now more people are just trying to stir it up again because Hacker News has somehow gone a whole two days without senseless bickering.

It's newspeak for the same shit.

Oh, right. Well, that's easy: it's an orange site.I've seen it typically (though not universally) used seemingly dismissively, so I've always assumed it was a euphemism. People very commonly refrain from naming a thing directly if they disapprove.Disclaimer: I'm no mind reader.

I think you are in a very small minority. I've never encountered anyone balking at the name, even in educational settings.Your interpretation -- which you didn't even specify! Many folks won't even know what you're talking about! -- is not the default in my experience. I usually think along the lines of "lame".In other words, your perspective is the one that seems childish to me.

is that a euphemism for a slashdot moderator?

I'm going to say it's used in the "derogatory shorthand for everyone who isn't like me" sense.