Live data from Hacker News

GitHub, fuck your name change

mooseyanon.medium.com

661–670 of 1001 posts

Re: GitHub, fuck your name change

#661

I want to share my own reactions to the name change since this is a really interesting topic. For context, I'm an African American, so many of my ancestors were slaves. - The first time it occurred to me that "master" in this context could offend anyone was when GitHub changed the name (and broke my workflow). - My immediate reaction was, "this change is by white people for white people," where "white" means anyone w…

So you admit that you were not offended by it but would still like it to change and would also impose said change to everyone for a reason that has yet to be identified.

Re: GitHub, fuck your name change

#662

I’m a black American and agree with everything that this person in London wrote. It is also a common criticism of the American “left”, and is entirely accurate. For everyone perplexed about black Americans and other people of color walking away from the left, its because you/they don't see us as equals that can be bothered by the exact same things that other Americans can be bothered by: being told what to think, wat…

>you/they don't see us as equals that can be bothered by the exact same things that other Americans can be bothered by: being told what to think

To switch things around for perspective:

"There's nothing wrong with being white and you should be proud of your race."

Yep, if a black person told me this it would be patronizing, and if a white person told me this I'd assume they're racist. Swap white for black in my quote, and it's what the white community in the US is effectively telling the black community, if not in such obvious terms.

It's precisely because of systematic racism that we white people get to share our "sage advice" on how to combat racism, while being almost totally ignorant on the subject. It's proof of privilege and hideously condescending.

Re: GitHub, fuck your name change

#663

I want to share my own reactions to the name change since this is a really interesting topic. For context, I'm an African American, so many of my ancestors were slaves. - The first time it occurred to me that "master" in this context could offend anyone was when GitHub changed the name (and broke my workflow). - My immediate reaction was, "this change is by white people for white people," where "white" means anyone w…

Self censorship is never healthy [1]. A default, widely accepted value for the main branch of git repo had immense value from a usability perspective. Creating a confusing system and calling it beneficial because it becomes a reminder about bias as it interrupts your workflow? That's some post modern intersectional bullshit right there.

I really don't care about the name change in this case, the OP was mistaken, master record also has roots in a master slave[tape] relationship. So please, change it, just do it upstream and leave me the fuck out of your culture war.

[1] https://youtu.be/5fHvjM_4F6w

Re: GitHub, fuck your name change

#664

I want to share my own reactions to the name change since this is a really interesting topic. For context, I'm an African American, so many of my ancestors were slaves. - The first time it occurred to me that "master" in this context could offend anyone was when GitHub changed the name (and broke my workflow). - My immediate reaction was, "this change is by white people for white people," where "white" means anyone w…

While there may be plenty of people of all races who were not offended by the name, when you operate at the scale of a GitHub there is going to be some percentage who are. Some of them will complain. A company like GitHub then has two main options: change the name, or defend not changing the name. Whichever one they pick is going to cause various forms of backlash from various people, but it’s pretty obvious that cha…

But, this argument rationales mob rule over reason. The name change is defensible to avoid "various forms of backlash from various people".

"Some of them will complain" -- a majority? Then yes, it makes sense to listen and adapt. Or, a loud minority who threatens? I don't believe that the change was made due to any overwhelming user feedback.

Re: GitHub, fuck your name change

#665

When Darth Vader tells Luke that one day Luke will call him master, is he also committing a microagression? Maybe the writers were, but I doubt it. To most English speakers master just means person in control or source of truth. Or we should retcon Star Wars. Time to ban some more books and film I guess. Yay?

[flagged]

Debated in the second sentence.

Re: GitHub, fuck your name change

#666

I want to share my own reactions to the name change since this is a really interesting topic. For context, I'm an African American, so many of my ancestors were slaves. - The first time it occurred to me that "master" in this context could offend anyone was when GitHub changed the name (and broke my workflow). - My immediate reaction was, "this change is by white people for white people," where "white" means anyone w…

I appreciate learning your perspective. Frankly, though, the argument you make for accepting and embracing such things to me reinforces the notion that the BLM movement feels like forced cultural revolution. Though you are not coming across with any such tone, the idea seems like "shut up, and take your medicine".

All cultural revolution is forced for those who do not benefit directly from it.

Nothing worth fighting for comes easy. Women's rights, racial rights, gay rights... It all had to be forced to happen, because it's much easier to maintain an unfair status quo than it is to convince millions of people that perhaps their world view is wrong and holding others back.

Re: GitHub, fuck your name change

#667
post #429

Saying that the left spends too much effort on rhetoric might be valid criticism, but focusing on it as reasons to "walk away from the left" (which not too many black Americans are doing, BTW) is disingenuous. Sure, the left talks about rhetoric, but it also fights for higher wages, civil liberties, healthcare, affirmative action, investment in education, workers' rights, and voting rights. It's fine not to like ever…

> "Wokeism" (and the even more made-up "cancel culture") is the new War on Christmas. Saying that woke excess is "made-up" and "hysteria" is gaslighting. Coca Cola ran a diversity training encouraging employees to "be less white": https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-why-co... . The Smithsonian has a whole page on "whiteness" treating it like it's a bad thing. If you work a college degree-required jo…

How is Coca Cola in any way representative of "the left"?

Re: GitHub, fuck your name change

#668

My problem is that this is an American company trying to impose their culture to us. There are a lot of developers from China and India whom Github didn't even consider asking. Question is why should "we" who face far worse challenges than the Blacks in US be asked to change the name. That is what doesn't make sense to me. The idea imposition happens just because we are a poor country and nothing else. I am sure 20 y…

Why is the change of the name of the default branch such a hardship for you?

Also how do you quantify far worse challenges? Are you treated worse relative to your other country people?

Re: GitHub, fuck your name change

#669
Ha, I am surprised no one yet cried about "black hat" being bad hackers and "white hat" being noble ones. When is that change coming to DEF CON? Most surprising is how hypocritical this charade is and likely everyone understands it, but follows the proverbial "school of fish".

Re: GitHub, fuck your name change

#670

My problem is that this is an American company trying to impose their culture to us. There are a lot of developers from China and India whom Github didn't even consider asking. Question is why should "we" who face far worse challenges than the Blacks in US be asked to change the name. That is what doesn't make sense to me. The idea imposition happens just because we are a poor country and nothing else. I am sure 20 y…

What is the problem for you about the name change?
Post reply on HN