diff --git a/conf/whitelist.conf.example b/conf/allowed_metrics.conf.example
similarity index 74%
rename from conf/whitelist.conf.example
rename to conf/allowed_metrics.conf.example
index f84895d0a..6a0553620 100644
--- a/conf/whitelist.conf.example
+++ b/conf/allowed_metrics.conf.example
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 # This file takes a single regular expression per line
-# If USE_WHITELIST is set to True in carbon.conf, only metrics received which
+# If USE_METRIC_FILTERS is set to True in carbon.conf, only metrics received which
 # match one of these expressions will be persisted. If this file is empty or
 # missing, all metrics will pass through.
 # This file is reloaded automatically when changes are made
diff --git a/conf/blacklist.conf.example b/conf/blocked_metrics.conf.example
similarity index 83%
rename from conf/blacklist.conf.example
rename to conf/blocked_metrics.conf.example
index 8038a7ef1..36cd8d93c 100644
--- a/conf/blacklist.conf.example
+++ b/conf/blocked_metrics.conf.example
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 # This file takes a single regular expression per line
-# If USE_WHITELIST is set to True in carbon.conf, any metrics received which
+# If USE_METRIC_FILTERS is set to True in carbon.conf, any metrics received which
 # match one of these expressions will be dropped
 # This file is reloaded automatically when changes are made
 ^some\.noisy\.metric\.prefix\..*
diff --git a/conf/carbon.conf.example b/conf/carbon.conf.example
index 4465fb4dc..c517695dc 100644
--- a/conf/carbon.conf.example
+++ b/conf/carbon.conf.example
@@ -14,12 +14,12 @@
 # To change other directory paths, add settings to this file. The following
 # configuration variables are available with these default values:
 #
-#   STORAGE_DIR    = $GRAPHITE_STORAGE_DIR
-#   LOCAL_DATA_DIR = %(STORAGE_DIR)s/whisper/
-#   WHITELISTS_DIR = %(STORAGE_DIR)s/lists/
-#   CONF_DIR       = %(STORAGE_DIR)s/conf/
-#   LOG_DIR        = %(STORAGE_DIR)s/log/
-#   PID_DIR        = %(STORAGE_DIR)s/
+#   STORAGE_DIR        = $GRAPHITE_STORAGE_DIR
+#   LOCAL_DATA_DIR     = %(STORAGE_DIR)s/whisper/
+#   USE_METRIC_FILTERS = %(STORAGE_DIR)s/lists/
+#   CONF_DIR           = %(STORAGE_DIR)s/conf/
+#   LOG_DIR            = %(STORAGE_DIR)s/log/
+#   PID_DIR            = %(STORAGE_DIR)s/
 #
 # For FHS style directory structures, use:
 #
@@ -112,7 +112,7 @@ CACHE_QUERY_PORT = 7002
 USE_FLOW_CONTROL = True
 
 # If enabled this setting is used to timeout metric client connection if no
-# metrics have been sent in specified time in seconds 
+# metrics have been sent in specified time in seconds
 #METRIC_CLIENT_IDLE_TIMEOUT = None
 
 # By default, carbon-cache will log every whisper update and cache hit.
@@ -176,14 +176,14 @@ WHISPER_AUTOFLUSH = False
 
 # On systems which has a large number of metrics, an amount of Whisper write(2)'s
 # pageback sometimes cause disk thrashing due to memory shortage, so that abnormal
-# disk reads occur. Enabling this option makes it possible to decrease useless 
+# disk reads occur. Enabling this option makes it possible to decrease useless
 # page cache memory by posix_fadvise(2) with POSIX_FADVISE_RANDOM option.
 # WHISPER_FADVISE_RANDOM = False
 
-# Set this to True to enable whitelisting and blacklisting of metrics in
-# CONF_DIR/whitelist.conf and CONF_DIR/blacklist.conf. If the whitelist is
-# missing or empty, all metrics will pass through
-# USE_WHITELIST = False
+# Set this to True to enable control over what metrics are allowed to be handled
+# CONF_DIR/allowed_metrics.conf and CONF_DIR/blocked_metrics.conf. If the
+# allowed list is missing or empty, all metrics will pass through.
+# USE_METRIC_FILTERS = False
 
 # By default, carbon itself will log statistics (such as a count,
 # metricsReceived) with the top level prefix of 'carbon' at an interval of 60
@@ -269,7 +269,7 @@ REPLICATION_FACTOR = 1
 
 # For REPLICATION_FACTOR >=2, set DIVERSE_REPLICAS to True to guarantee replicas
 # across distributed hosts. With this setting disabled, it's possible that replicas
-# may be sent to different caches on the same host. This has been the default 
+# may be sent to different caches on the same host. This has been the default
 # behavior since introduction of 'consistent-hashing' relay method.
 # Note that enabling this on an existing pre-0.9.14 cluster will require rebalancing
 # your metrics across the cluster nodes using a tool like Carbonate.
@@ -336,13 +336,13 @@ TIME_TO_DEFER_SENDING = 0.0001
 USE_FLOW_CONTROL = True
 
 # If enabled this setting is used to timeout metric client connection if no
-# metrics have been sent in specified time in seconds 
+# metrics have been sent in specified time in seconds
 #METRIC_CLIENT_IDLE_TIMEOUT = None
 
-# Set this to True to enable whitelisting and blacklisting of metrics in
-# CONF_DIR/whitelist.conf and CONF_DIR/blacklist.conf. If the whitelist is
-# missing or empty, all metrics will pass through
-# USE_WHITELIST = False
+# Set this to True to enable control over what metrics are allowed to be handled
+# CONF_DIR/allowed_metrics.conf and CONF_DIR/blocked_metrics.conf. If the
+# allowed list is missing or empty, all metrics will pass through.
+# USE_METRIC_FILTERS = False
 
 # By default, carbon itself will log statistics (such as a count,
 # metricsReceived) with the top level prefix of 'carbon' at an interval of 60
@@ -434,7 +434,7 @@ MAX_QUEUE_SIZE = 10000
 USE_FLOW_CONTROL = True
 
 # If enabled this setting is used to timeout metric client connection if no
-# metrics have been sent in specified time in seconds 
+# metrics have been sent in specified time in seconds
 #METRIC_CLIENT_IDLE_TIMEOUT = None
 
 # This defines the maximum "message size" between carbon daemons.
@@ -460,10 +460,10 @@ MAX_AGGREGATION_INTERVALS = 5
 # having to first wait rule.frequency seconds.
 # WRITE_BACK_FREQUENCY = 0
 
-# Set this to True to enable whitelisting and blacklisting of metrics in
-# CONF_DIR/whitelist.conf and CONF_DIR/blacklist.conf. If the whitelist is
-# missing or empty, all metrics will pass through
-# USE_WHITELIST = False
+# Set this to True to enable control over what metrics are allowed to be handled
+# CONF_DIR/allowed_metrics.conf and CONF_DIR/blocked_metrics.conf. If the
+# allowed list is missing or empty, all metrics will pass through.
+# USE_METRIC_FILTERS = False
 
 # By default, carbon itself will log statistics (such as a count,
 # metricsReceived) with the top level prefix of 'carbon' at an interval of 60
diff --git a/lib/carbon/conf.py b/lib/carbon/conf.py
index bd4d41261..1ba253567 100644
--- a/lib/carbon/conf.py
+++ b/lib/carbon/conf.py
@@ -73,7 +73,7 @@
   DESTINATIONS=[],
   USE_FLOW_CONTROL=True,
   USE_INSECURE_UNPICKLER=False,
-  USE_WHITELIST=False,
+  USE_METRIC_FILTERS=False,
   CARBON_METRIC_PREFIX='carbon',
   CARBON_METRIC_INTERVAL=60,
   CACHE_WRITE_STRATEGY='sorted',
@@ -191,8 +191,8 @@ class CarbonCacheOptions(usage.Options):
         ["config", "c", None, "Use the given config file."],
         ["instance", "", "a", "Manage a specific carbon instance."],
         ["logdir", "", None, "Write logs to the given directory."],
-        ["whitelist", "", None, "List of metric patterns to allow."],
-        ["blacklist", "", None, "List of metric patterns to disallow."],
+        ["allowed_metrics", "", None, "List of metric patterns to allow."],
+        ["blocked_metrics", "", None, "List of metric patterns to disallow."],
         ]
 
     def postOptions(self):
@@ -220,7 +220,7 @@ def postOptions(self):
         # Normalize and expand paths
         settings["STORAGE_DIR"] = os.path.normpath(os.path.expanduser(settings["STORAGE_DIR"]))
         settings["LOCAL_DATA_DIR"] = os.path.normpath(os.path.expanduser(settings["LOCAL_DATA_DIR"]))
-        settings["WHITELISTS_DIR"] = os.path.normpath(os.path.expanduser(settings["WHITELISTS_DIR"]))
+        settings["METRIC_FILTERS_DIR"] = os.path.normpath(os.path.expanduser(settings["METRIC_FILTERS_DIR"]))
         settings["PID_DIR"] = os.path.normpath(os.path.expanduser(settings["PID_DIR"]))
         settings["LOG_DIR"] = os.path.normpath(os.path.expanduser(settings["LOG_DIR"]))
         settings["pidfile"] = os.path.normpath(os.path.expanduser(settings["pidfile"]))
@@ -272,13 +272,13 @@ def postOptions(self):
                         os.chown(logdir, self.parent["uid"], self.parent["gid"])
                 log.logToDir(logdir)
 
-        if self["whitelist"] is None:
-            self["whitelist"] = join(settings["CONF_DIR"], "whitelist.conf")
-        settings["whitelist"] = self["whitelist"]
+        if self["allowed_metrics"] is None:
+            self["allowed_metrics"] = join(settings["CONF_DIR"], "allowed_metrics.conf")
+        settings["allowed_metrics"] = self["allowed_metrics"]
 
-        if self["blacklist"] is None:
-            self["blacklist"] = join(settings["CONF_DIR"], "blacklist.conf")
-        settings["blacklist"] = self["blacklist"]
+        if self["blocked_metrics"] is None:
+            self["blocked_metrics"] = join(settings["CONF_DIR"], "blocked_metrics.conf")
+        settings["blocked_metrics"] = self["blocked_metrics"]
 
     def parseArgs(self, *action):
         """If an action was provided, store it for further processing."""
@@ -453,13 +453,21 @@ def get_default_parser(usage="%prog [options] <start|stop|status>"):
         default=None,
         help="Use the given config file")
     parser.add_option(
-      "--whitelist",
+      "--allowed_metrics",
       default=None,
-      help="Use the given whitelist file")
+      help="Use the given allowed_metrics file")
     parser.add_option(
-      "--blacklist",
+      "--blocked_metrics",
       default=None,
-      help="Use the given blacklist file")
+      help="Use the given blocked_metrics file")
+    parser.add_option(
+      "--whitelist",    ##DEPRECATED
+      default=None,
+      help="DEPRECATED: Use the '--allowed_metrics' option")
+    parser.add_option(
+      "--blacklist",    ##DEPRECATED
+      default=None,
+      help="DEPRECATED: Use the ''--blocked_metrics' option")
     parser.add_option(
         "--logdir",
         default=None,
@@ -555,7 +563,7 @@ def read_config(program, options, **kwargs):
     settings.setdefault(
         "LOCAL_DATA_DIR", join(settings["STORAGE_DIR"], "whisper"))
     settings.setdefault(
-        "WHITELISTS_DIR", join(settings["STORAGE_DIR"], "lists"))
+        "METRIC_FILTERS_DIR", join(settings["STORAGE_DIR"], "lists"))
 
     # Read configuration options from program-specific section.
     section = program[len("carbon-"):]
diff --git a/lib/carbon/instrumentation.py b/lib/carbon/instrumentation.py
index d953ed588..04a15c8c1 100644
--- a/lib/carbon/instrumentation.py
+++ b/lib/carbon/instrumentation.py
@@ -137,8 +137,8 @@ def recordMetrics():
   # common metrics
   record('activeConnections', len(state.connectedMetricReceiverProtocols))
   record('metricsReceived', myStats.get('metricsReceived', 0))
-  record('blacklistMatches', myStats.get('blacklistMatches', 0))
-  record('whitelistRejects', myStats.get('whitelistRejects', 0))
+  record('blocked_metricsMatches', myStats.get('blocked_metricsMatches', 0))
+  record('allowed_metricsRejects', myStats.get('allowed_metricsRejects', 0))
   record('cpuUsage', getCpuUsage())
 
   # And here preserve count of messages received in the prior periiod
diff --git a/lib/carbon/protocols.py b/lib/carbon/protocols.py
index d37c37e5f..84ab33a99 100644
--- a/lib/carbon/protocols.py
+++ b/lib/carbon/protocols.py
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@
 from twisted.protocols.policies import TimeoutMixin
 from carbon import log, events, state, management
 from carbon.conf import settings
-from carbon.regexlist import WhiteList, BlackList
+from carbon.regexlist import allowed_metrics, blocked_metrics
 from carbon.util import pickle, get_unpickler
 
 
@@ -56,17 +56,17 @@ def connectionLost(self, reason):
       events.resumeReceivingMetrics.removeHandler(self.resumeReceiving)
 
   def metricReceived(self, metric, datapoint):
-    if BlackList and metric in BlackList:
-      instrumentation.increment('blacklistMatches')
+    if blocked_metrics and metric in blocked_metrics:
+      instrumentation.increment('blocked_metricsMatches')
       return
-    if WhiteList and metric not in WhiteList:
-      instrumentation.increment('whitelistRejects')
+    if allowed_metrics and metric not in allowed_metrics:
+      instrumentation.increment('allowed_metricsRejects')
       return
     if datapoint[1] != datapoint[1]: # filter out NaN values
       return
     if int(datapoint[0]) == -1: # use current time if none given: https://github.com/graphite-project/carbon/issues/54
       datapoint = (time.time(), datapoint[1])
-    
+
     events.metricReceived(metric, datapoint)
     self.resetTimeout()
 
diff --git a/lib/carbon/regexlist.py b/lib/carbon/regexlist.py
index 446d9db27..8017a66c0 100644
--- a/lib/carbon/regexlist.py
+++ b/lib/carbon/regexlist.py
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
 
 
 class RegexList:
-  """ Maintain a list of regex for matching whitelist and blacklist """
+  """ Maintain a list of regex for matching allowed and blocked metrics. """
 
   def __init__(self):
     self.regex_list = []
@@ -58,5 +58,11 @@ def __nonzero__(self):
     return bool(self.regex_list)
 
 
-WhiteList = RegexList()
-BlackList = RegexList()
+"""
+##DEPRECATION: These were originally called `WhiteList` and `BlackList`.  The
+new names might fail some styleguide opinions.  We can change them later.
+"""
+allowed_metrics = RegexList()
+blocked_metrics = RegexList()
+WhiteList = RegexList()     ##DEPRECATING
+BlackList = RegexList()     ##DEPRECATING
diff --git a/lib/carbon/service.py b/lib/carbon/service.py
index 34d52580c..f61b41b3b 100644
--- a/lib/carbon/service.py
+++ b/lib/carbon/service.py
@@ -52,10 +52,21 @@ def createBaseService(config, settings):
     root_service = CarbonRootService()
     root_service.setName(settings.program)
 
-    if settings.USE_WHITELIST:
-      from carbon.regexlist import WhiteList, BlackList
-      WhiteList.read_from(settings.whitelist)
-      BlackList.read_from(settings.blacklist)
+    if settings.USE_WHITELIST:  # DEPRECATING per https://github.com/graphite-project/carbon/issues/567
+        settings.USE_METRIC_FILTERS = True
+        log.msg("NOTE: 'USE_WHITELIST' is being deprecated in favor of 'USE_METRIC_FILTERS'.")
+        WhiteList.read_from(settings.whitelist)     #DEPRECATING
+        BlackList.read_from(settings.blacklist)     #DEPRECATING
+
+    if settings.USE_METRIC_FILTERS:
+        from carbon.regexlist import allowed_metrics, blocked_metrics
+        allowed_metrics.read_from(settings.allowed_metrics)
+        blocked_metrics.read_from(settings.blocked_metrics)
+        # I hope that this does what I think.
+        if WhiteList:                               #DEPRECATING
+            allowed_metrics.update(WhiteList)       #DEPRECATING
+        if BlackList:                               #DEPRECATING
+            blocked_metrics.update(BlackList)       #DEPRECATING
 
     # Instantiate an instrumentation service that will record metrics about
     # this service.