Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

Somewhat disheartening to see all the arguments here saying it doesn't matter how we name stuff. Lived language creates reality.

There are groups of black people that complained about the terminology, repeatedly [1]. So isn't it arrogant as a white dude to say, this thing hurts you, and we could easily change it, but fuck you we won't do it because we have always done it that other way?

Some easy no effort replacements:

- master-slave -> leader-follower

- blacklist -> denylist

- whitelist -> acceptlist

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Master%E2%80%93slave_(technolo...



This argument isn't just absurd but push it to its logical extreme, and you're inviting brutal thought policing and full-blown totalitarianism.

I stick with "master" in my Git repos partly because it's an excellent filter: it lets me steer well away from anyone who pitches a fit over the word.


Ah yes, the if we change something that would mean we would have to change everything and that would be absurd, so we can't change anything ever argument. Classic.




Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: