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If "Master/Slave" terminology in computing sounds bad now, why not change it to "Dom/Sub"?
(lemmy.dbzer0.com)
this post was submitted on 20 Aug 2024
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I personally think the whole backlash against master/slave in the computing world is people looking for something in their sphere of knowledge to be offended about so they can feel like they are part of "a movement". Even if some mustache twirling racist was the first "computer guy" to come up with the term and meant it to be offensive, that is not how sane people view it today. So some of the advocates for changing it should stop trying to build it up into some Pizzagate-like conspiracy against black/brown people.
Having said that, I also don't have any strong attachments to the phrasing either. Phase it out in favor of something that makes everyone happy if that keeps the peace. It is just a term that made sense at the time to describe something. There is nothing stopping us from changing it to something else now if we so choose. It is not erasing heritage or some such nonsense. If anything, people having strong hangups about it if there are better or equally as good terms out there that doesn't make people uncomfortable is far weirder in my opinion.
The only thing I have somewhat strong opinions about is making it some high priority to go back and erase those terms from solutions that already exist. Change them as you update things, sure, but why create extra work to update something old that is currently working if the only change is not functional and just verbiage. Seems like wasted effort that could be better directed and solving functional issues to me.
I don't have issues with the original terminology either, and wouldn't really care if it was changed. But if it were changed to Dom/Sun then it would reinforce the meme of the stockings wearing femboy programmer. XD
I use 'main' on git instead of 'master' now (forced to change at work) and its shorter and snappier IMO.
But yeah there are more important problems out there.
The master in master branch is, I'd assume, from the idea of Master copy which refers to the original of something, eg a recording, drawing, etc. https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/master-copy
I'm not hugely tied to the word, and things change ... So meh.
While I agree with your assumption, I think main is less vague. Master can be interpreted several ways, including an offensive one. So while I agree with other commenter in that it's unnecessary to go back and change things retroactively, but just setting the default branch name for new repos in your version control to main is a fair thing to ask IMO.
Not the code, but some of your coworkers might potentially be offended.
Also good job with the ad hominem.
Oh, as a programmer myself I'm perfectly aware of how shitty most codebases are. It's just that the context you said this in implied that people who care about political correctness are worse programmers. Dont act like this wasn't on purpose and hide behind "shitposting".
I insist on renaming main to master every time I create a repo on GitLab. Master forever, even if it doesn't make much sense.
That makes no sense whatsoever.
It makes sense because "master copy" is the name of the "official" version of something. Nothing to do with slavery by the way.
I don't know about Scrollone, but I hate it when corporations force me to change for the sake of change. Options to change is fine (in case someone doesn't like the default), of course.
And no, "inclusivity" is not the actual reason, as that's already covered by adding the option to change (which again, is completely fine)
So you are not passively against progress, you are doing it actively.
Has very much "vinyl is better than modern media" vibes.
while in some ways I can see your point, I would just have a hard time saying this in a work meeting here in the deep south with black colleagues present
Isn't the inverse - "I asked x number of black people and they were OK with it" or even "I assume y% number of black people are ok with it" subject to the same criticism?
I am white so we're probably getting to the edge of propriety in this conversation.
Whitelist and Blacklist is on that stack as well.
Bro I fucking said “whitelist” in a meeting and got so many glares, fuck all of these fucking uneducated pieces of shit that can only punch down because they know nothing except “DATS RACIST”
Fucking thermodynamics is racist guys
Black absorbs, white reflects
Blackhole, sun
fuck these people
Are we back to the fetish-based terminology?
Welcome to Orwell-ville.
PS: im most amused by those who think the USA incented slavery.
The US may not have invented it, but there are still people in the US who are affected by it today.
Americans care about slavery for the same reason that Germans care about Nazis.
Given the current US prison system and Germany's stance on Israel, that sentence might mean something very different from what you had in mind
And red-lining districts, and bull-dozing new black towns for highways. etc etc etc
There are so many instances of going around laws just to disadvantage black/coloured people.
Pulling the ladder up after themselves and telling others to pull themselves up by their bootstraps.
Many things were wrong, but language is where people draw the line, like ...... c'mon. Using slurs I can understand it is uncouth offensive. But master/slave in technical terms ???? NO ONE means the original meanings unless they are also crazy!
Agreed. The systemic exclusion of POC from benefits and advantages was rolled back just as POCs were becoming independent. It affected BOTH communities , POCs AND economically dis-advantaged equally.
So you had a substantial population with severe economic and political disadvantages being relentessly targetted by those in power.
Hence, the current top-1% control 80% upwards of everything.
we may not have invented it but we certainly invested in it and probably incested it as well.
I always thought it was just people looking for something in their sphere of influence that they could do to make a difference, no matter how small.
The computing world is known for being hostile toward most out-groups, and I’ll welcome any effort to change that, no matter how small and how silly it seems. The real change needs to be in the people but perhaps being cognizant of such details will help remind us all to be more open and welcoming