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by rgoulter 1503 days ago
> signals that the author doesn't have an interest in working with the greater open-source community to develop it further or adopt it.

This reminds me, there's a somewhat inherent affiliation in the flamewar over the branch name master/main.

The people who use "master" clearly don't think it's a bad term to use, and probably think being upset over it is silly. Those who use "main" either think it's (to some extent) racist to use the word master, or don't want to be yelled at.

Whichever word you chose ultimately signals affiliation, and the other group will feel you don't recognise their frustration. -- I think the sensible people just ignore it.

Rather.. I think if you want to have a community where people with different cultural attitudes feel welcome, I think some toe-stepping is inevitable and unavoidable.
1 comments
kelnos 1503 days ago
The thing that bothers me about the people who dig in and insist on continuing to use "master" is that... well... this is the hill they want to die on? If changing was some big expensive process, or if it was a name that held some sort of special historical significance (or whatever), I could maybe see the argument against. But it's... the original default branch name of a source control tool. Get over it and move on, maybe?

(Having said that, I still haven't gotten around to renaming all my existing repositories...)

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makeitdouble 1503 days ago
> If changing was some big expensive process

This is the main fear in every org I have seen the debate play out.

Going to every single script and tool that touches git, check and update it isn’t free, nor completely devoid of risk. Even when everyone is one the same page about the right thing to do, it’s tough to prioritize over other actual production issues.

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rgoulter 1503 days ago
The appeal to arbitrariness goes both ways. If it's a minor choice, insisting it be changed is silly. "Get over it and move on" applies just as much to either.

That people have feelings about a topic that's disproportionate to its significance is characteristic of a flame-war. It's natural for people to hold strong opinions on all sorts of stuff like this. It's very human.

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dijit 1502 days ago
Everyone has opinions over the colour of the bike shed.
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