
GitHub moving away from 'master' and 'slave' branch names amid racial tensions - jamesdepp
https://www.businessinsider.com/github-replacing-software-code-terms-master-slave-2020-6
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josteink
But we can still pay for GitHub using MasterCard.

So yeah. Until that is banned, I’m not believing this genuinely reflects
anyone’s actual belief besides trying to score cheap PR points during the BLM
riots.

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necovek
I hope, as part of the movement to clean the language of touchy usage, the
word "slave" also gets dropped from English and other languages since it
derives from "Slavic" people who, during the Roman times, were captured and
used for unpaid labour.

Please do not refer to the practice of abusing people and forcing them to work
as "slavery" either.

I am exaggerating a bit, but the point stands: master might have a bad
connotation when it comes to enslavement, but the term has and has had other
meanings prior to being used in that manner.

Since this discussion went so far as to touch on black- and whitelists, I
wonder if we are to stop from black symbolizing darkness (you know, night) and
ill, and white from symbolizing light (day) and good.

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holler
you have to wonder, where does this end?

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jjeaff
In the words of John Oliver, "somewhere". It ends somewhere. You don't do
nothing because you don't know exactly where it might end.

Should we remove confederate statues from places of honor? Where does it end?

I'm not all for word policing, but if some words I am using are making people
feel bad, I don't see any problem in trying to change those words. As long as
removing these words is coming out of mutual respect and not from laws that
are infringing on our rights of free speech.

Which is the case here. I don't think anyone is forcing anyone to remove words
like master and slave.

~~~
necovek
But it is true that the word "slave" makes me feel bad about my Slavic
ancestors being enslaved, and it makes me feel even worse that the name of
their tribe has become to be used for such egregious practices. Not enough for
me to complain at several language standards bodies, though, and I do
understand the history of it. Just like Slavic people calling Germans "mutes"
(Nemci) is offensive too, but as neighbours, they either met people who used
"words" (slovo) or were unintelligible (nem meaning mute).

And I get your argument (yes, I am free to fight for the abolishment of the
word "slave" in languages where it's derived from the root Slav), but
"forcing" here is indeed happening through somewhat modern means: public,
online, armchair shaming and harrasment. If you do not see that, you are
dishonest imho.

As a case in point, you come with an argument how the word "master" (which is
what the OP was about) is "making people feel bad" (I blame all those MScs
too), but are you offended by it? Or at least heard from someone directly who
is? Read an actual piece where someone describes it is so? If you do, please
let me know that's the case, since otherwise I can only assume your goal is to
shame me into appearing as if I have no empathy. If none of these, _who_ are
you arguing for?

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jjeaff
Yes, I have had that discussion with someone that didn't like the use of the
term. It has come up a few times when I have explained our infrastructure to
her regarding master/slave architectures also the term 'master bedroom',
because it sounds a bit too much like where the plantation master stays. That
doesn't mean she is severely offended, she just doesn't like it and she isn't
particularly sensitive to things like that normally, but it has come up
several times before.

The more you learn about our American history of slavery and oppression,
little things like that are just kind of a little dig and reminder of that
terrible history and the fact that some of it still remains.

I definitely am aware of the armchair shaming that goes on. But I highly doubt
that cases like the naming of the master branch would receive anything more
than a few tweets. People are just trying to make any easy change they can to
show they are -for- the movement. Because honestly, it's a difficult problem
to address.

