[Mimedefang] OT: Slaves

[Adam Lanier]

On Fri, 2007-02-16 at 17:55 +0100, Jan-Pieter Cornet wrote:
> On Fri, Feb 16, 2007 at 11:07:04AM -0500, Adam Lanier wrote:
> > On Fri, 2007-02-16 at 10:21 -0500, David F. Skoll wrote:
> > > http://www.freesoftwaremagazine.com/node/2075
> > Well, he does have a point...
> 
> No he doesn't. Not out here in the real world.
> 
> He'll get labelled a cook just like the ID=10Ts who released a linux
> version that doesn't use the word "daemon" or where it wasn't allowed to
> say "chmod 666", or use the mail client Evolution, out of religious
> (dis)beliefs, and other such nonsense.
> 
> "slave" is just a very common word in IT, there's nothing you're
> going to do about it. How about IDE drives? Do a google codesearch for
> "slave", I got about 163,000 hits, in big packages all over the place.
> 
> What's next, environmentalist demanding the world adapt a new term
> for what's now referred to as a "club" because it reminds them about
> the painful deaths of baby seals?
> 
> The internet is world-wide. Everything you do _might_ offend someone,
> somewhere. If you are offended, then just don't look, use a filter
> if you must. If you only put stuff on the internet that never ever
> offends anyone, you won't ever get anything on.

Your opinion as well as mine are perfectly valid.  That fact that we
disagree on this point means, in the grand scheme of things, absolutely
nothing.

I personally couldn't care less whether the terms 'master/slave' are
replaced with anything else.  Although, if it comes to that, I vote for
'moose/squirrel'.  I realized that these terms have been used in
computing circles for decades and are unlikely to be eradicated.  I also
understand that the use of them in no way directly relates to the
unfortunate history of African-Americans.

However, there are others whose opinions differ (as is obvious from the
article posted by David).  The fact that 'everything you do _might_
offend someone' doesn't obviate you from the responsibility incurred by
doing something that you KNOW offends someone.


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