Loaded terms in free software

Posted Jun 20, 2020 0:30 UTC (Sat) by rbranco (subscriber, #129813)
Parent article: Loaded terms in free software

Renaming "problematic" terms in software because "someone" (who?) might be "offended" is going to be a textbook example of a First World problem.

Loaded terms in free software

Posted Jun 20, 2020 0:38 UTC (Sat) by Cyberax (✭ supporter ✭, #52523) [Link] (8 responses)

It doesn't mean that the problem doesn't need solving.

Loaded terms in free software

Posted Jun 20, 2020 0:45 UTC (Sat) by rbranco (subscriber, #129813) [Link] (6 responses)

> It doesn't mean that the problem doesn't need solving.

It's not a problem (only bike-shedding) and the "solutions" only bring more problems.

Start for renaming "git" as well.

Loaded terms in free software

Posted Jun 20, 2020 1:07 UTC (Sat) by Cyberax (✭ supporter ✭, #52523) [Link] (5 responses)

Please stop bringing up this strawman. Nobody is realistically offended by "git".

Loaded terms in free software

Posted Jun 20, 2020 1:49 UTC (Sat) by milesrout (subscriber, #126894) [Link] (4 responses)

Nobody is realistically offended by 'master' either. They're just pretending to be offended, to, as someone actually admitted in the comments, try to make anyone that continues to use the term look like a racist even when they aren't one.

It's a pretty standard tactic of social signalling. Yell 'I'm not a racist and I don't use master for my git branches' and you try to create an association between not being racist and not using the term master, in turn trying to create an association between using the term master and being racist.

The problem is, master/slavery terminology has nothing to do with racism whatsoever, because slavery has nothing to do with racism and never has had anything to do with racism outside of one instance of slavery in history: American slavery. Well sorry bucko but America isn't the centre of the world.

Loaded terms in free software

Posted Jun 22, 2020 14:25 UTC (Mon) by nix (subscriber, #2304) [Link] (3 responses)

Nobody is realistically offended by 'master' either. They're just pretending to be offended, to, as someone actually admitted in the comments, try to make anyone that continues to use the term look like a racist even when they aren't one.

Yet four minutes after you posted this, you replied to someone who was upset by these terms. You told them to get over themselves and called them "these people", i.e. not the people who matter and who should be allowed to take decisions.

You are arguing in bad faith.

Loaded terms in free software

Posted Jun 22, 2020 16:31 UTC (Mon) by milesrout (subscriber, #126894) [Link] (2 responses)

If I post that I get upset by the comments asking for this change does it automatically become bad? Or are the only valid tears the ones that are from people that you agree with?

Loaded terms in free software

Posted Jun 22, 2020 19:23 UTC (Mon) by nix (subscriber, #2304) [Link] (1 responses)

The time to do that is *before* you make it clear that you're arguing in bad faith. If you were to do that now everyone would just assume, rightly, that you were lying. (btw: this comment makes it yet more clear. You are treating this like some sort of sporting contest in which your side must win. It's not a sporting contest when actual people get hurt, without their consent, by your actions.)

Loaded terms in free software

Posted Jun 22, 2020 20:47 UTC (Mon) by milesrout (subscriber, #126894) [Link]

I'm not arguing in bad faith and never have been. My point that you are ignoring is quite obvious. Respond to it or not at all, troll.

Loaded terms in free software

Posted Jun 20, 2020 1:44 UTC (Sat) by milesrout (subscriber, #126894) [Link]

The problem that needs solving is people choosing to be offended by words regardless of context because they're obsessed with being offended, then thinking that that offence gives them the right to tell other people what words they allowed to use.

Change the name of your default branch to 'main' or 'default' if you want, but trying to get everyone else to change to suit you is idiotic. Of course, Cyberax, you spend your *life* trolling the LWN comment section so it's not surprise you're trolling in this thread too is it...