It sounds way less offensive to those who decry the original terminology’s problematic roots but still keeps its meaning intact.

  • SpaceCowboy@lemmy.ca
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    2 months ago

    Master can also mean proficiency. If you say you’ve mastered a trade it doesn’t mean you enslaved the trade, you simply have complete knowledge of the trade.

    So in that context, the master branch is the complete branch. The branch that other branches stem from because it’s the one with code from all the teams. You could branch from another team member’s branch but if that branch hasn’t merged from master in a while, it won’t have all the knowledge (code). When you merge in master you’re getting knowledge from elsewhere from the branch that’s aware of more things than your branch is: the branch that has mastery of the code, the master branch.

    • febra@lemmy.world
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      2 months ago

      That’s not how the terms entered computing though. We always used master in opposition of one or multiple slaves. It implies that one component has control and orders the other one around.

      • Saik0@lemmy.saik0.com
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        2 months ago

        So in a git commit (since they mentioned branches)… What’s the slave? Since your the one gatekeeping the word you should know right? How come Git can’t be Master in the context they provided when there is no existence of a slave commit?

        • febra@lemmy.world
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          2 months ago

          I’m not sure where you’re going with this. I haven’t gatekept anything, you can use whatever term you want, that’s none of my business. You can happily read my other comment. To me, “master” makes no sense if there are no “slaves”. That’s why I don’t use it. It doesn’t make sense to use it. You do you, that’s your business.

          • Saik0@lemmy.saik0.com
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            2 months ago

            https://mastering.com/how-to-master-a-song/

            To master something, has a number of meanings that don’t require the use of “slaves”.

            https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/master

            Definitions most definitions of the word have nothing to do with slaves.

            Edit: In this case, I believe that we all treat Git the same as this definition in specific…

            : to produce a master recording of (something, such as a musical rendition)

            So just because you only know of “master” in regards to “slaves”… that doesn’t make you right.

            • febra@lemmy.world
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              2 months ago

              Never said it made me right. Just didn’t make sense to me. You can still use whatever you like, as I do.

              • Saik0@lemmy.saik0.com
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                2 months ago

                That’s not how the terms entered computing though. We always used master in opposition of one or multiple slaves.

                And yet you said this… Acting like you speak for the entirety of industry, when I bring up one specific facet of our industry that isn’t using the term juxtaposition to “slaves”… but rather to other concepts of “master”, you now magically change your tune.

                • febra@lemmy.world
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                  2 months ago

                  Look, I come from the hardware part of the industry and have never seen anyone talk about “master records” in software but always about master devices controlling slave devices. I’ll give you that, apparently “master records” are a thing (although I’m curious in what part of the industry). At the same time, it seems so niche and weird to me that there’s no point for me to use it. I’ll stick with main because it just makes more sense and seems a lot more intuitive to people than to think about master records and what not. You do you, I personally absolutely do not care at all what you go with in your projects.