There’re two aspects to the “master” vs “main” debate: (A) the negative connotation that “master” acquired during slavery in parts of the English-speaking world; and (B) the fact that “main” is objectively clearer, benefitting newcomers and effectively reducing the barrier to entry.
I’m not entirely on board with (A).
The downside to fighting words is that the negative connotation in the word is actually strengthened when a major organization decides to censor it on such grounds.
Consider Winnie the Pooh and CCP: used to be a cute children’s cartoon character, was compared to China’s dictator and got banned—now any display of Winnie is effectively a statement. Previously you were free to take it at face value clear of any political agenda, but now the meaning is decided for you by a central authority.
Furthermore, in the case of “master”, it was replaced with another word—and words continuously acquire connotations. If some white supremacist community now adopts “main” as a slang for “white”, what do we do? Keep on renaming branches? Doesn’t strike me as a sustainable approach.
I dream of a world where every single person is secure and no one takes terms personally, but I guess that can’t happen in foreseeable future.
However, I have to support (B). If we were starting with a blank slate, there’s really no argument to be made for “master” as somehow better than “main” at denoting the, well, main branch. (It could be a tough choice between “default” and “main” though.)
It’s hard to say for sure, but I suspect a lot of the pushback is subconsciously of the “we had to learn obscure terminology, so why should newcomers be spared?” variety.
I’m not entirely on board with (A).
The downside to fighting words is that the negative connotation in the word is actually strengthened when a major organization decides to censor it on such grounds.
Consider Winnie the Pooh and CCP: used to be a cute children’s cartoon character, was compared to China’s dictator and got banned—now any display of Winnie is effectively a statement. Previously you were free to take it at face value clear of any political agenda, but now the meaning is decided for you by a central authority.
Furthermore, in the case of “master”, it was replaced with another word—and words continuously acquire connotations. If some white supremacist community now adopts “main” as a slang for “white”, what do we do? Keep on renaming branches? Doesn’t strike me as a sustainable approach.
I dream of a world where every single person is secure and no one takes terms personally, but I guess that can’t happen in foreseeable future.
However, I have to support (B). If we were starting with a blank slate, there’s really no argument to be made for “master” as somehow better than “main” at denoting the, well, main branch. (It could be a tough choice between “default” and “main” though.)
It’s hard to say for sure, but I suspect a lot of the pushback is subconsciously of the “we had to learn obscure terminology, so why should newcomers be spared?” variety.