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'Master' and 'slave': Tech terms face scrutiny amid anti-racism efforts

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tggzzz:

--- Quote from: lukego on June 12, 2020, 09:12:39 am ---
--- Quote from: james_s on June 12, 2020, 03:42:41 am ---That's my biggest issue with this, it never ends.

--- End quote ---

The way I look at this is that culture needs maintenance much like a house. It is a never-ending cost but that doesn't mean that neglecting it will lead to good outcomes.

I've worked on products that used master/slave terminology. I'm bothered that those products have been sold in places where those terms have strong connotations like southern USA. I don't like the idea of (say) a black person in Georgia having to talk about "masters" and "slaves" in project management meetings with their white bosses. That just seems gratuitously unpleasant. That image in my mind is why I won't choose the terms master/slave when building things in the future.

--- End quote ---

Only 28s long; pithy.

lukego:

--- Quote from: tggzzz on June 12, 2020, 09:55:47 am ---Only 28s long; pithy.

--- End quote ---

Also related, albeit a little longer, but contemporary and from a non-fictional counterpart:

wraper:

--- Quote from: lukego on June 12, 2020, 09:12:39 am ---
--- Quote from: james_s on June 12, 2020, 03:42:41 am ---That's my biggest issue with this, it never ends.

--- End quote ---

The way I look at this is that culture needs maintenance much like a house. It is a never-ending cost but that doesn't mean that neglecting it will lead to good outcomes.

I've worked on products that used master/slave terminology. I'm bothered that those products have been sold in places where those terms have strong connotations like southern USA. I don't like the idea of (say) a black person in Georgia having to talk about "masters" and "slaves" in project management meetings with their white bosses. That just seems gratuitously unpleasant. That image in my mind is why I won't choose the terms master/slave when building things in the future.

--- End quote ---
Was that black person a slave? No? Then he'll be uncomfortable of it only because he was told he should be. My ancestors were serfs and I'm white. Should I be offended too? It's fascinating how black people occupied the word slave as if it belongs only to them. Or that all white people have something to do with their slavery when even ancestors of most of the white people have nothing to do with that and many of them were basically slaves themselves.

Berni:

--- Quote from: Simon on June 12, 2020, 09:48:16 am ---Well I did wonder years ago with USB 1, 1.1 and 2.0 what available names were left for what would clearly be 3.0 and beyond.

--- End quote ---

Well USB 2.0 already made a problem there.

You got:
Low Speed (1.5Mbit on USB 1.1)
Full Speed (12Mbit on USB 1.1)
High Speed (480Mbit on USB 2.0)
Super Speed (5Gbit on USB 3.0 or 10Gbit on USB 3.2 Gen2 or 20Gbit on USB 3.2 Gen2x2)

It sounds like "Full speed" should be faster than "High speed" so it already got confusing there. The new finagled "Super speed" just made it worse since it was not only faster than full, but it can mean 3 very different speeds depending on what revision port it is. :palm:

lukego:

--- Quote from: wraper on June 12, 2020, 10:15:14 am ---My ancestors were serfs and I'm white. Should I be offended too?

--- End quote ---

If there's a part of the industry where white men are struggling to get a foothold then I hope other groups will extend them the same courtesy and help to take down any unnecessary hurdles that they identify. I don't think we talk about this as much because white men are relatively well represented and successful in the tech industry at the present time.

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