GitHub plans to replace racially insensitive terms like ‘master’ and ‘whitelist’(thenextweb.com)
thenextweb.com
GitHub plans to replace racially insensitive terms like ‘master’ and ‘whitelist’
https://thenextweb.com/dd/2020/06/15/github-plans-to-replace-racially-insensitive-terms-like-master-and-whitelist/
7 comments
If you're going to replace the terms "whitelist" and "blacklist", why not consider making use of the actual definitions and use something like "include-list" and "exclude-list"?
I'm not even necessarily a fan of that nomenclature, but I'm surprised that's not one of the replacements that are considered (in the Twitter poll in the article for example).
I'm not even necessarily a fan of that nomenclature, but I'm surprised that's not one of the replacements that are considered (in the Twitter poll in the article for example).
Getting out of hand.... It's not derogatory. This does nothing. sigh
To be fair, I don't think the intent or the etymology of the words needs to be derogatory or racial insensitive to justify changing the terms.
I think the argument is that "this word makes some people uncomfortable by reminding them of something that may be emotionally charged for them", and therefore basic decency says maybe we should avoid those terms. Especially for groups that are under-represented in the field, which may well be validation of the "makes people uncomfortable" bit.
I think the argument is that "this word makes some people uncomfortable by reminding them of something that may be emotionally charged for them", and therefore basic decency says maybe we should avoid those terms. Especially for groups that are under-represented in the field, which may well be validation of the "makes people uncomfortable" bit.
I feel myself on the verge of changing opinion on this topic.
From unrelated Internet browsing the last few days I learned that someone (Wiesenthal institute maybe) successfully (I think) fronted a campaign against a company reusing the word Zyklon as a brand name.
Reading your excellent comment now brought up that again and what do I know: maybe the word master does bring up so strong emotional responses in people that we should avoid it. I'm actually serious here, and maybe I'm dumb for not connecting the dots before.
On the other hand, I'm really not sure if it would be a great idea to let anyone, including my 20 years younger self, decide what words should be allowed and not for everyone in the world?
I'm actually serious about this and if I change my mind it wouldn't be the first time here.
From unrelated Internet browsing the last few days I learned that someone (Wiesenthal institute maybe) successfully (I think) fronted a campaign against a company reusing the word Zyklon as a brand name.
Reading your excellent comment now brought up that again and what do I know: maybe the word master does bring up so strong emotional responses in people that we should avoid it. I'm actually serious here, and maybe I'm dumb for not connecting the dots before.
On the other hand, I'm really not sure if it would be a great idea to let anyone, including my 20 years younger self, decide what words should be allowed and not for everyone in the world?
I'm actually serious about this and if I change my mind it wouldn't be the first time here.
Master means too many different things to remove it from English. For example: Master of Arts Degree in African-American Studies
Its usage in git is inrelated to the master/slave metaphor. There are systems that use that metaphor and they should chane. Git isn’t one of them.
Its usage in git is inrelated to the master/slave metaphor. There are systems that use that metaphor and they should chane. Git isn’t one of them.
I'll take it one step farther: I'm guessing the original etymology wasn't even master/slave but master/copy. For that matter it's not obvious to me that whilelist/blacklist was racially inspired. I assume it's more like "black mark" -> "blacklist" -> "whitelist".
But you're missing the point. You can't rationalize your way out of an emotional response. You can't talk people out of being disturbed or distracted by the terms master/slave.
Rational or not, if we know that this metaphor or phrasing makes a sizable group of people uncomfortable, why would we continue to use it in technical writing or source code? It's such a small "accommodation" to ask for.
But you're missing the point. You can't rationalize your way out of an emotional response. You can't talk people out of being disturbed or distracted by the terms master/slave.
Rational or not, if we know that this metaphor or phrasing makes a sizable group of people uncomfortable, why would we continue to use it in technical writing or source code? It's such a small "accommodation" to ask for.
It seems that some people are projecting their own prejudice onto unrelated words and perhaps they should reflect on why they relate everything to race.