GitHub to replace "master" with alternative term to avoid slavery references

Fri, 19 Jun 2020 05:36:26 +1000

Andrew Pam <xanni [at] glasswings.com.au>

Andrew Pam
<https://www.zdnet.com/article/github-to-replace-master-with-alternative-term-to-avoid-slavery-references/>

"GitHub is working on replacing the term "master" on its service with a
neutral term like "main" to avoid any unnecessary references to slavery,
its CEO said on Friday.

The code-hosting portal is just the latest in a long line of tech
companies and open source projects that have expressed support for
removing terms that may be offensive to developers in the black community.

This includes dropping terms like "master" and "slave" for alternatives
like "main/default/primary" and "secondary;" but also terms like
"blacklist" and "whitelist" for "allow list" and "deny/exclude list."

The concern is that continued use of these racially-loaded terms could
prolong racial stereotypes.

"Such terminology not only reflects racist culture, but also serves to
reinforce, legitimize, and perpetuate it," wrote academics in a 2018
journal."

Via Hank G.

Cheers,
        *** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net                   Andrew Pam
http://www.xanadu.com.au/                 Chief Scientist, Xanadu
http://www.glasswings.com.au/             Partner, Glass Wings
http://www.sericyb.com.au/                Manager, Serious Cybernetics

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