Earlier quoted context omitted.
Preach it!
Love your work - mind fielding some questions over e-mail or sth?
Sure thing, my email is in my profile. As much as I love toiling in obscurity I actually enjoy much more when people notice :)
LOLWUT: a piece of art inside a database command
41–50 of 127 posts
Re: LOLWUT: a piece of art inside a database command
#42Earlier quoted context omitted.
Where did the computer people get the term from?
Probably from engineering in the 30s/40s, I'd bet. Say you had two gun turrets with servos, and used a synchro slaved to another synchro to have one track whatever the other was pointing at. It's pretty obvious terminology for systems that don't support dynamic hierarchy changes. EDIT: Consulting some docs from the time ( http://www.eugeneleeslover.com/USNAVY/CHAPTER-10-D.html ), this may not be the case. I'm genuine…
I would guess earlier, probably back in the days of steam. Master / slave cylinder is commonly used in hydraulics.
Re: LOLWUT: a piece of art inside a database command
#43Earlier quoted context omitted.
Back in the days software developers didnt announce this sort of thing and called it "easter eggs". According to wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easter_egg_(media) : > "In computer software and media, an Easter egg is an intentional inside joke, hidden message or image, or secret feature of a work. It is usually found in a computer program, video game, or DVD/Blu-ray Disc menu screen. The name is used to evok…
He’s announcing it (and built it) as a reaction against the master/slave naming issue. It’s a political statement dismissing removal of exclusionary language. Not sure why I’m being downvoted because he’s publicly stated this on Twitter explicitly several times.
Did you read his other blog posts?
He is not an exclusionary person, and labeling him as such, based on an impulsive reaction to an abstract word, with multiple contextual interpretations, is a misguided interpretation of recent events.
His frustration at irrational demands for unnecessary effort is understandable.
Re: LOLWUT: a piece of art inside a database command
#44Earlier quoted context omitted.
Absolutely. First was the Apache commons clause license, and responding to random folks who assumed Redis was going closed source. Then the current issue of changing master slave termibology,and having to hear negative things from both the camps. Lolwut is the perfect break from madness.
I think it's sad this was a debate at all. As a maintainer, there is some responsibility to respond to people who are working with you or using your product. On the other hand, personally I would have just said: "deal with it". The fact of the matter is, virtually no one has been or is a slave, no one is being mocked, no one is being belittled, it's a term used to describe a system. Sure, it could be more "politicall…
> If it doesn't enhance readability, speed, etc.
I disagree. Having terminology that is clear (which master/slave is not) decreases the time needed to spend to get an understanding of whatever it is you're working on.
Also related, if someone is offended by terminology then that will slow down their progress in understanding because they first have to process those feelings in order to continue.
Re: LOLWUT: a piece of art inside a database command
#45Earlier quoted context omitted.
Is master/slave even a proper term to begin with? If we approach it from a "human slavery" standpoint, the master directs slaves to perform tasks that the master does not itself perform. Master/replica makes sense to me in the context of copies that all perform the same function, including the master.
Now this is the kind of argument that could actually persuade any remaining holdouts. It's not bad terminology because it's offensive but because it's inaccurate!
Personally I wasn't-necessarily-a hold out, rather dispassionately observing from the sidelines but I'll admit that approach to the descriptors made me subtly. It makes the most sense, and much more accurately defines the mechanisms involved.
Re: LOLWUT: a piece of art inside a database command
#46Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think the idea of "master" as in a definitive or original copy has enough usage that it's considered a second meaning of the word. I guess it's still possible that people will be upset, but without "slave", it's not unreasonable to assume that people will think of a key or album master instead of a slaver.
Is master/slave even a proper term to begin with? If we approach it from a "human slavery" standpoint, the master directs slaves to perform tasks that the master does not itself perform. Master/replica makes sense to me in the context of copies that all perform the same function, including the master.
Even that doesn't quite fit, I think. It makes sense for Redis, but in a lot of other master/slave topologies, what's actually happening is that 1. a group is electing a leader; 2. the leader says what is happening; and then 3. everyone (including the leader) all does what the leader said, concurrently.
I feel like there is probably an exact term for this arrangement, from another discipline. Maybe choreography?
• There are principal dancers and back-up dancers. People performing the same action are dancing in unison.
• There are cheerleading captains and their squads, which consist of the roles of base, flyer, and spotter. Interestingly, being captain (giving orders) is disjoint from a member's performative role within the squad; a member of any role could also be the captain.
• There are operatic prima donnas (or primo uomos)—the lead singers—and a chorus, though these are not mirrored.
• Orchestral organization has tons of different roles: the orchestral ensemble composed of players; their conductor; the principal of each section; the concertmaster (the principal of the section leading the melody of the piece, usually the first violin section.) You can also speak of accompaniment.
Interestingly, most of these disciplines lack a term for "everyone of a group being led, besides the leader." I would assume that this is because the leader is taking part in the group, and so there is no explicit action taken by the group-minus-the-lead, only actions taken by the lead or taken by the group as a whole. (On the other hand, for machines, it is useful to talk about the process of following the lead's... lead. Humans generally do this implicitly, and don't really refer to it as an explicit action they're undertaking, separately from the actions that they're mirroring.)
Re: LOLWUT: a piece of art inside a database command
#47Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think it's sad this was a debate at all. As a maintainer, there is some responsibility to respond to people who are working with you or using your product. On the other hand, personally I would have just said: "deal with it". The fact of the matter is, virtually no one has been or is a slave, no one is being mocked, no one is being belittled, it's a term used to describe a system. Sure, it could be more "politicall…
> If it doesn't enhance readability, speed, etc. I disagree. Having terminology that is clear (which master/slave is not) decreases the time needed to spend to get an understanding of whatever it is you're working on. Also related, if someone is offended by terminology then that will slow down their progress in understanding because they first have to process those feelings in order to continue.
[deleted]
Re: LOLWUT: a piece of art inside a database command
#48Re: LOLWUT: a piece of art inside a database command
#49Earlier quoted context omitted.
The way I look at it, the amount of effort required to change that terminology is less than the amount of community discomfort generated by keeping it.
It makes me very angry when "they" (I'm not even sure who "they" are or what their motives are) go around policing random software projects for political correctness compliance, bullying/mobbing the maintainers if they don't comply, etc. These people even go after your project if one of your maintainers is deemed politically incorrect outside of the scope of the project (i.e. on Twitter) and demand they be kicked out…
I've come to believe its a mix of virtue signalling (public, empty gestures intended to convey socially approved attitude without any associated risk or sacrifice.) and pat-yourself-on-the-back slacktavism (there, I tweeted about what people perceive to be a problem, therefor I've done my part).
In essence, they get to tell themselves (mostly convincingly so) that they have contributed to reduce inequality and discrimination, and are helping right a historical wrong.
In the end, I dont think it changes things one wit - but it makes people feel better, so I guess its a net good over time - albeit an unconscionably silly one.
Re: LOLWUT: a piece of art inside a database command
#50I love Easter eggs like this one! I usually put in a secret route in web apps/APIs that I build that spits out a silly meme. Not that anyone will find out, but still gives me joy. P.S would’ve been even more awesome if Antirez could’ve slipped this one in without the whole world noticing but I guess that’s impossible for a hugely popular open source project.
I love Easter eggs like this one! I usually put in a secret route in web apps/APIs that I build that spits out a silly meme.
On my personal site there's something similar to this, a link to a page that technically got moved and should have a proper redirect but instead I left it and replaced the contents with a gif of the Ferris Bueller after credit scene "Are you still here? Go home".
A few people have stumbled across it and sent in humorous tweets telling me they found it. Never fails to put a smile on my face in the middle of the day.