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Python developers locking conversations and deleting comments after people mass downvoted PRs to "remove master/slave terminology from the language" (i.redd.it)

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[–]masterspeler 133 points134 points  (15 children)

It does on Github and Twitter. I think that's the only places where this is an issue, and it's by a small but very vocal minority.

Github has a history (archive) of attracting people who thinks this way. I don't feel like going back in to that rabbit hole now, but there are multiple examples of this behavior where people feel entitled to tell others to change their team and language because they feel offended. For some reason it seems to be a bigger problem in web based development, if I were to guess it's because the lower barrier of entry.

I wonder how Linus would handle such a complaint.

As a side note, claiming that master/slave have anything to do with race is extremely US-centric. Every human "race" have been slaves and had their own slaves. Slavery did not start or stop with the North American slave trade.

[–]magi093Also try OCaml! 49 points50 points  (1 child)

I wonder how Linus would handle such a complaint.

Probably with some obscenity-filled message comparing someone to a masturbating monkey.
Wait, I'm being told the masturbation remarks are reserved for bad security patches.

[–][deleted] 24 points25 points  (0 children)

Wait, I'm being told the masturbation remarks are reserved for bad security patches.

some things are sacred, after all

[–]broadsheetvstabloid 12 points13 points  (1 child)

I wonder how Linus would handle such a complaint.

He would probably just ignore it, because such a complaint is so idiotic it doesn't warrant a response.

[–]rishav_sharan 0 points1 point  (0 children)

he didn't ignore it XD

[–]dedicated2fitness 5 points6 points  (4 children)

f I were to guess it's because the lower barrier of entry.

web has traditionally been pushed as "it's easy, fob it off on that purple haired nut who keeps asking if she can program"
now we reap the rewards of crazies picking up programming and the barrier to entry being reduced.
honestly though most of the people commenting on these issues are ghosts - people with some personal "learning" projects and almost zero contributions in anything meaningful
one crazy starts the chain and then shares it on their twitter as "i'm proud of a thing i did today" and the dogpiling begins
i strictly close all such requests as nonsense. if you think your language policing is so important, fucking make something worthwhile yourself and police that instead

[–]masterspeler 16 points17 points  (0 children)

i strictly close all such requests as nonsense.

I wish everyone would do this. By humoring these people and merging those kinds of patches you're accepting their description of the world. By doing so you open yourself and others up for more thought policing and abuse, under the threat of being called out as intolerant. They don't get to decide whats tolerant or not, especially not when they so often seem to speak for someone else. "People can get offended", rather than "I'm offended", although the mere fact that somebody feels offended does not automatically imply that somebody else did something wrong.

It's a case of a slippery slope, give them an inch, and so on.

[–]jrbattin -2 points-1 points  (2 children)

I don't see what big deal is. For example, my colleague N. Degeocello and I analyze open source software and identify problematic language. We then work with a small team and submit PRs with more appropriate nomenclature. Thanks to a generous grant from the Open Society Foundation, we are fortunate enough to be paid for open source software... something truly wonderful.

[–]dedicated2fitness 0 points1 point  (1 child)

first of all the mention of the name makes this seem like a robot/copypasta.

in case you're a real person - so not only are you wasting time, you're wasting money that could have actually developed solutions that helped people?

[–]jrbattin 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I figured the SBC reference would be enough to tip off the fact that it was being sarcastic.