I’m white and I don’t feel comfortable saying it/typing it.
Comment on If "Master/Slave" terminology in computing sounds bad now, why not change it to "Dom/Sub"?
clickyello@lemmy.world 2 months ago
y’all I understand there are larger issues in the world but please let’s not pretend that POC working in tech feel awesome about typing master/slave in the terminal, it’s outdated and should be changed.
yrmp@lemmy.world 2 months ago
MentallyExhausted@reddthat.com 2 months ago
Also not great when you’re trying to explain something to a client.
Linkerbaan@lemmy.world 2 months ago
Not just that, it’s bad and makes no sense in its technical context.
Server client is far better.
lud@lemm.ee 2 months ago
No, that’s completely dependent on what you are referring too. I have never heard anyone ever referring to a server as “master” or a client as a “slave”. The slave/master terminology is often used for storage. I.E. Master drive and slave drive.
Linkerbaan@lemmy.world 2 months ago
You are correct I swapped client with other such as worker, child, and helper,
In 2018, after a heated debate, developers of Python replaced the term.[4] Python switched to main, parent, and server; and worker, child, and helper, depending on context.[4][23] The Linux kernel adopted a similar policy to use more specific terms in new code and documentation.[17][24]
The problem with the term “slave” is that it does not indicate there is a delegation of work going, on but rather that the subdevice is somehow fully “owned” by the master device. Whereas in reality the master is more like a manager telling a worker what to do.
lud@lemm.ee 2 months ago
In some cases the sub device is pretty much owned by the “master” device.
I’m mostly thinking of IDE since that’s the only place I ever hear anyone use master/slave except GIT where master is used.
nemno@lemmy.world 2 months ago
Nowadays its more ofte used for server hierarchies/functionality. Or well, a lot of software is changing now. Mariadb use Source and replica.
KillingTimeItself@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 months ago
that’s because the server is rarely the master, the clients do work, and the server just exchanges the work of the clients, it’s a lot more akin to a telephone exchange as opposed to a master/slave architecture.
JustZ@lemmy.world 2 months ago
It’s a weird phrase to begin with.
In law, the phrase “master / servant” has been around forever. It’s the foundation of the law of agency.
Some tech bro picked slave instead of servant.
KillingTimeItself@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 months ago
are you a person of color yourself? Or are you white like the statistical majority of us?
Shitposting aside, i feel like if you feel weird typing it out, you probably care too much about most things in life, though then again, i’m pretty fucking autistic so.
Miaou@jlai.lu 2 months ago
The fact that you write POC instead of “black people” shows how ridiculous this whole conversion is.
NostraDavid@programming.dev 2 months ago
Is asked the local POC (Indonesian-Japanese; Indonesian-born) and he responded (and I quote) “people need to stop being pussies”. The Brazilians (Brazil mentioned!) didn’t care much either.
So I don’t need to pretend anything about anything.
Your milage may vary though.
lud@lemm.ee 2 months ago
But POC are not the only ones that have been enslaved.
Pretty much all races and people have been enslaved in history.
Slave does not equal North American POC slave and the term in this context has absolutely nothing to do with them. The only time it refers specifically to them is when discussing North American history (and maybe current history due to the fact that USA still enslaves people in prison)
One might argue that the term is outdated because slaves are less common these days, but it has nothing to do with POC (or human slaves at all). But I won’t argue that because the term is very easy to understand and thus not outdated.
VulKendov@reddthat.com 2 months ago
North American, more specifically US slavery is very recent relative to the rest of slavery and was deeply ingrained into the economy of half the country. War broke out to abolish it and the effects of it are still felt today.
Don’t deflect from the racism, discrimination, and prejudice that black Americans still experience to this day because of slavery.
lud@lemm.ee 2 months ago
Maybe but the terms slave and master have nothing to do with that.
ILikeAllAss@lemmynsfw.com 2 months ago
The origin of the terms have nothing to do with it, and they historically apply to a broad range of races and peoples, but I guarantee when the average person hears “master/slave” their first thought is likely “American south” and not “IDE Drive configuration” or “hydraulic system”, so unless I’ve misinterpreted you by mistake, I’m not sure how you could seriously claim “the terms master and slave have nothing to do with [the historical systemic dehumanization of PoC]”
I understand it’s more syllables to say “primary/secondary”, but you can also use:
Changing our habits is annoying and takes effort, but I dont know why people are so enthusiastic to hang onto a term that refers to a historically dehumanizing relationship that people are still unwillingly subjected to in the modern day.
KillingTimeItself@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 months ago
hate to be that guy but like, i feel like we should probably push for more POC to enter CS education fields, or like, improve the socioeconomic status of them, or like, crack down on discriminatory hiring practices, before we like. Start removing words because they feel moderately icky and make my skin crawl.
colon_capital_D@lemmy.world 2 months ago
Why not both? We have the capacity to replace outdated/useless words and make the situation better for others. In fact, one does not prevent the other whatsoever
PeriodicallyPedantic@lemmy.ca 2 months ago
That’s a cool story, bro.
Completely irrelevant to the observation that descendents of slaves probably dont appreciate the terminology.
lud@lemm.ee 2 months ago
Exactly