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Update to Git changes the default of init.defaultBranch to main

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Re: Update to Git changes the default of init.defaultBranch to main

#91

Post by IshKebab »

PretzelFisch wrote: post #13

If the name change builds a larger, diverse, empathetic community. What have you or I lost?

I now have to go to extra effort to get my default branch to be called `master`. Plus I can no longer assume that the default branch is `master`. I have to check for every project whether they are using `main` or `master`.

Maybe not a lot more effort, but it definitely is more effort, and for basically no gain. Let's not kid ourselves that black people being targeted by the police care about Git branch names. Hell apparently nobody even cares that Git is called Git, which is definitely a ruder word than "master".

Re: Update to Git changes the default of init.defaultBranch to main

#92

Post by dspillett »

gorgoiler wrote: post #78

In my professional experience as a teacher of high school children the following terms consistently cause problems in class: - git : literally a pejorative - any website name ending in -hub , cf websites of interest to teenage boys Imagine a software project called catshit made popular by a related website called catshitpiss where their great pearl-clutching debate is about how it potentially alienates people with ca…

> - git: literally a pejorative

And very deliberately so.

>- any website name ending in -hub, cf websites of interest to teenage boys

Does -hub have a general negative connotation in your language? In English it just refers to a centre of something, in physical objects usually something with a radial topology.

If the existence of pornhub.com is enough to make the use of the pattern *hub problematical generally then I'm going to create pornbread.com and force everyone to eat untoast & butter.

Re: Update to Git changes the default of init.defaultBranch to main

#93

Post by spuz »

mason55 wrote: post #45
denysvitali wrote: post #11

Can we please stop wondering about being politically correct and focus on the real problems of the world? Thanks! I would also like to add the fact that politics or any social matter IMHO should be kept out of software in general. I don't think that any other engineering field has this much drama over some words that have been part of our whole life until now like IT is having.

Imagine if instead of master/slave the terms were master and "n-word". Would there be a reasonable argument to change it at that point? If you say "yes" then you agree there is a line somewhere. If that's the case then we should discuss where the line should be and why it should be there instead of saying "stop [worrying] about being politically correct". If you say "no" then your argument is that no words are too of…

master/slave is an analogy that is used in technology which has an obvious origin and personally has always made me slightly uncomfortable since I first heard about it with reference hard disk priorities. Similarly the terms male and female make me slightly uncomfortable with respect to cables and sockets.

However, master in the context of git has no connection to the concept of master and slave. They are two different words with different meanings. So to answer your question yeah I think there is a line and it is somewhere near to that drawn by master/slave but nowhere near that drawn by master as in the concept of "original".

Re: Update to Git changes the default of init.defaultBranch to main

#94

Post by wayneftw »

pseudalopex wrote: post #57
throwaheyy wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not sure I understand the idea of banning words being taken so far. I always interpreted Git’s usage of ‘master’ to mean the original replica. Like the golden master of a record or CD.

Nobody banned anything. They changed a default. Git was developed to replace Bitkeeper. Git's usage of master probably comes from Bitkeeper's usage of master and slave.

No, the guy who picked the name "master", Petr Baudis, explained why he picked it:

> "master" as in e.g. "master recording".

https://twitter.com/xpasky/status/1272280760280637441

Re: Update to Git changes the default of init.defaultBranch to main

#95

Post by wayneftw »

zacwest wrote: post #12

The branch name "master" does not have "golden master" or "master copy" roots: https://mail.gnome.org/archives/desktop-devel-list/2019-May/...

That's incorrect. Petr Baudis explained why he picked it:

> "master" as in e.g. "master recording".

https://twitter.com/xpasky/status/1272280760280637441

That's straight from the horse's mouth. The thread you linked to is pure conjecture.

Re: Update to Git changes the default of init.defaultBranch to main

#96

Post by martinp »

umvi wrote: post #9

Sigh... sad to see the tech community bullied into compliance over a non-issue by political correctness activists. It's not really that big of a deal (and in some ways "main" is better anyway because it's 2 characters shorter), it's just the principle of the thing that bothers me. I would rather see projects and people stand their ground instead of caving to pressure anytime a twitter mob comes along.

It’s a sad state of affairs when language is censored because of political correctness being taken to extremes. Context is important to understand the meaning of words. Outright removing the use of certain words, such as "master", regardless of context sets a dangerous precedent.

Furthermore, the meaning of words change over time. To assume "master" always refers to a slave owner is assuming the worst possible intention behind use of the word and overloading it to mean something it no longer does. There's a limit to the degree you can expect other people to participate in your world view.

Unfortunately, most tech companies and organization (especially American ones) are spineless and have already bent to the will of the mob.

Re: Update to Git changes the default of init.defaultBranch to main

#98

Post by wayneftw »

tachyonbeam wrote: post #15
tbrake wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In the grand scheme of slippery slopes this change isn't even at an angle.

I fully agree that this specific change is insignificant, but the biggest deep learning conference has been renamed, after something like 20 years, because of this kind of pressure. Word policing has a bit of a 1984 feel to it. Some desire to control you and how you think by controlling which words you use, with new arbitrary words being banned all the time. Instead of actual change, we're focusing on the superficial…

> ...the biggest deep learning conference has been renamed, after something like 20 years, because of this kind of pressure.

This was interesting:

> Of the survey respondents, 1,881 were men and 294 were women. Of the women, 44% agreed a name change should occur and 40% disagreed. Of the men, 28% agreed a name change should occur and 55% disagreed.[5] More than half of those surveyed were against the change, but 30% of those surveyed were in favor. In response, the Neural Information Processing Systems Foundation Board of Trustees decided to change the official abbreviation and acronym of the conference from NIPS to NeurIPS. [0]

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conference_on_Neural_Informati...

Re: Update to Git changes the default of init.defaultBranch to main

#99

Post by gorgoiler »

dspillett wrote: post #92
gorgoiler wrote: post #78

In my professional experience as a teacher of high school children the following terms consistently cause problems in class: - git : literally a pejorative - any website name ending in -hub , cf websites of interest to teenage boys Imagine a software project called catshit made popular by a related website called catshitpiss where their great pearl-clutching debate is about how it potentially alienates people with ca…

> - git: literally a pejorative And very deliberately so. >- any website name ending in -hub, cf websites of interest to teenage boys Does -hub have a general negative connotation in your language? In English it just refers to a centre of something, in physical objects usually something with a radial topology. If the existence of pornhub.com is enough to make the use of the pattern *hub problematical generally then I…

My native language, despite what people think of my ability to write, is English.

Bread is too quotidian for your example, I think. Try subverting something more closely related to computers. Perhaps launching pornhaskell.co.ck would be a better attempt?

It’s more likely to generate embarrassment in class if you ask the boys if they’ve been up all night with sticky Haskell problems.

Good luck!

Re: Update to Git changes the default of init.defaultBranch to main

#100

Post by pseudalopex »

wayneftw wrote: post #94
pseudalopex wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nobody banned anything. They changed a default. Git was developed to replace Bitkeeper. Git's usage of master probably comes from Bitkeeper's usage of master and slave.

No, the guy who picked the name "master", Petr Baudis, explained why he picked it: > "master" as in e.g. "master recording". https://twitter.com/xpasky/status/1272280760280637441

I hadn't seen that. Thanks!

He also said "it's not unlikely at all" it was influenced by Bitkeeper[1] and he's "wished many times" he picked main instead[2].

[1] https://twitter.com/xpasky/status/1272958618124595201

[2] https://twitter.com/xpasky/status/1271477451756056577

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