[RenaudWasTaken]

This discussion already happened multiple times on the git Mailing list. e.g: https://public-inbox.org/git/CAOAHyQwyXC1Z3v7BZAC+Bq6JBaM7Fv...

From: Konstantin Ryabitsev

Git doesn't use "master-slave" terminology -- the "master" comes from the concept of having a "master" from which copies (branches) are made:

https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Master_recording

The concept predates the music business and goes back to middle ages when a guild master would create a "master work" or "master piece" that the apprentices could use for study or for imitation.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Master_craftsman

[mostlystatic]

There's a GNOME mailing list discussion which suggests the etymology is different.

""" First appearance of "master" in git is in a CVS helper script... Why is that branch called master? Probably because BitKeeper uses "master" for its main branch... But maybe this "master" isn't the same one that's in "master/slave"? """

It then links to a BitKeeper file saying:

"We are then going to modify the file on both the master and slave repository and then merge the work."

https://mail.gnome.org/archives/desktop-devel-list/2019-May/...

[DC-3]

I'm astonished anyone ever thought otherwise. Has anyone ever encountered a git branch called 'slave'?

[JMTQp8lwXL]

Here's roughly 4,000 instances of branch names containing 'slave' for you to peruse:

https://github.com/search?q=head%3Aslave

[arp242]

There's a quite a few false positives in that list (e.g. a person named "slavek" always using his name in branch names), a few references to the "master/slave" analogy, and browsing the first few pages I keep seeing the same usernames over and over again (mostly from what seem to be non-native English speakers).

So the number seems much lower than 4000, and mostly the result from a very small group of people. I don't know how many branches there are in GitHub, but this seems like a very very small percentage.

[smitty1e]

It has become increasingly obvious that the Roman alphabet and English language must be replaced due to their overwhelming historical baggage.

[Kednicma]

Replaced with what, though? Nobody talking about "slave" seems to notice that "servant" and "robot" have similar baggage despite different linguistic roots.

[alwillis]

Nobody talking about "slave" seems to notice that "servant" and "robot" have similar baggage despite different linguistic roots.

As I sometimes say, I've been Black my entire 50+ years on the planet. I've never met another Black person (or anyone regardless of their race or ethnicity) that felt that robot has “similar baggage” to the word slave.

[rumanator]

> Replaced with what, though?

With a glorious newspeak that greatly improves on the legacy language by simplifying the grammar and adding safety mechanisms to ensure all conversations are safe spaces.

[9nGQluzmnq3M]

Otherwise +1, but a masterpiece is what the apprentice would create in a bid to demonstrate that they're ready to be a master. Think of it as the hands-on version of a MSc thesis.

[alwillis]

Turns out that Git’s master terminology decended from the master/slave concept and not the master copy concept: https://mail.gnome.org/archives/desktop-devel-list/2019-May/...