Bonum Certa Men Certa

IBM Fought for 'Master Race' and Now It's Banning the Word 'Master'

We need to go back in time to understand why many people are so angry

GitHub to replace master with main starting in October: What developers need to do now



Summary: A lot of the current push to ban the word "master" came from Red Hat (soon IBM, helped by Intel and Microsoft for the most part); we take a hard look at IBM's history to better understand the incredible double standards and what the real motivations might be

THE 'international bullshit machine' (IBM) is telling us that the world's problems boil down to something like a Git branch being called "master". That's easily debunkable. We wrote about it many times before and we explained why it's a pretty big deal.



“Political correctness is fascism pretending to be manners,” George Carlin once said. This whole abolition of master, slave terms (not practice) seems to have been started by Red Hat (soon IBM because of the imminent takeover), at least in this earlier case if not earliest (2 years ago). We're not aware of the debate going further back than this and it was started by a Red Hat employee. "For diversity reasons," he asserted, "it would be nice to try to avoid "master" and "slave" terminology which can be associated to slavery." Notice the references there (GitHub, already Microsoft's on paper).

IBM cardNow read the comments from fellow developers. We'll quote a few (this is from 2 years ago, before people became reluctant/afraid to publicly object). "I'm a little surprised by this," said an early comment (on the bug tracker). "It's not like slavery was acceptable when these computer science terms were coined and it's only comparatively recently that they've gone out of fashion. On the other hand, there are some areas in computer software where "master" and "slave" are the exact technical terms (e.g. IDE), and avoiding them would lead to confusion. Of the four citations you reference, one of them is a PR for Django, and three of them say "see the Django PR". The Django PR is an unreadable infinitely-long page of miserable arguing. So the context doesn't help much. Have there been any actual complaints? Or is this an attempt to solve a problem that doesn't really exist?"

Early debates included also this: "As a counter-example: A quick grep finds 555 occurrences of the word "kill" in CPython master. Everybody knows killing is bad and using the term might upset certain people. Yet I would not support expunging the word "kill" from Python."

Another one: "I'm not super-excited by the idea that Python has to change its behavior based on secret comments. Python has traditionally had a very open governance model where all discussions happen in public."

This was weeks after the creator of Python surprisingly resigned. We cannot prove there's a connection between those two events (resignation and controversy/commotion).

"To me," said another person, "there is nothing wrong with the word 'master', as such. I mastered Python to become a master of Python. [...] Like Larry, I object to action based on hidden evidence."

"The term "master" has so many positive connotations that I think it is misguided to effectively eliminate it from the current English language," another developer noted.

"In fact," said another developer, "in the BDSM subcultures, "master/slave" can have *positive* connotations. You want to support diversity, then why are you discriminating against that subculture?"

Another comment: "Talking about diversity: my wife is of a nationality that historically were often stolen to be slave [...] Both of us are angered by this attack on our linguistic culture. Stop trying to sanitize and infantalize language."

Also note: "The discussion under GH PRs [Microsoft GitHub] is now censored. What will be the next level?"

That was after Microsoft bought GitHub, at least on paper. No discussion allowed. The debate was secret.

Wikipedia's article on this very subject states upfront (at the top): "This article may be unbalanced towards certain viewpoints."

We know who's good at gaming Wikipedia. Some people receive a salary to do it. Microsoft even got caught doing this, infuriating Wikipedia's co-founder.

"IMO," said another person, "the problem isn't the master/slave terminology itself but the way how the changes were introduced (no discussion) and the justification ("diversity reasons"???)"

Notice this other ticket, also citing GitHub extensively:

It has come to my attention that CPython's source code contains problematic ableist/saneist terms and/or pejoratives, namely

sanity check 144 silly 26 insane 13 crazy 13 stupid 6 lame 2 lunatic 1

Some of those slipped into the documentation. In an attempt to make Python community more inclusive and welcoming, we should clean up these usages and replace them with something neutral (where applicable). Unfortunately, to this day many developers deem such efforts as "trolling", so please note that the precedent has already been set by many major projects. Here're just a few:

https://github.com/unpkg/unpkg.com/pull/81 https://github.com/reduxjs/redux/pull/2335 https://github.com/rtfd/readthedocs.org/pull/3752 https://github.com/krzysztofzablocki/Sourcery/issues/2 https://github.com/google/xi-editor/pull/126

Other resources:

https://english.stackexchange.com/q/282282 http://isthisableism.tumblr.com/sluralternatives

The goal of this issue is not to stir up arguments, but to figure out the alternatives and ways to replace those problematic terms.


So they're starting to take control of language further and further. Even a word like "crazy" (or "lame") is going to become a Code of Conduct (CoC) violation of some kind? Where does this go? Where might it end?

"I find this nonsensical and I'm very disappointed that this ideological nonsense is infecting Python," said another comment.

Guido van Rossum himself wrote (weeks earlier): "Now that PEP 572 is done, I don't ever want to have to fight so hard for a PEP and find that so many people despise my decisions."

To CoC antagonists he wrote: "your only option might be to leave this group voluntarily. Perhaps there are issues to decide like when should someone be kicked out (this could be banning people from python-dev or python-ideas too, since those are also covered by the CoC)."

This poses a potential danger to people like Linus Torvalds inside the Linux Foundation, for reasons we covered before [1, 2]. Language control is a slippery slope which overlooks or distracts from the vastly bigger problems.

I've always wondered about the timing of Guido van Rossum's sudden resignation (unscheduled, unplanned, no succession in place), seeing pointless controversies being floated at the time. As Daniel Pocock put it quite recently: "It is permissible for leaders to write nasty things about volunteers but it is not permissible for volunteers to write things about the leaders."

Now, going back to IBM, it was its initiative initially (or Red Hat's). IBM keeps pushing this elimination of words, even by sending PR people to me, urging yours truly to suit their nonsensical narrative.

Well, IBM wants us to think that it's against "masters". But its history tells an entirely different story. Not only is IBM a deeply racist company; historically it profited a lot from the "master race" agenda, which involved not only discrimination but incarceration/incineration of people of the 'wrong' race.

From the full book which contradicts this hypocritical narrative, War Against The Weak:

IBM eugenics p34
page 34



IBM eugenics p36-37
pp. 36-37



IBM eugenics p54
page 54



IBM eugenics p803-807
pp. 803-807



IBM eugenics p852-856
pp. 852-856



IBM eugenics p927
page 927



IBM eugenics p1051-1052
pp. 1051-2



IBM eugenics p1172
page 1172



IBM eugenics p1613-1614
pp. 1613-14



So that's IBM. How very tolerant a company. IBM knew exactly what it was doing all along. It only stopped when it became a PR embarrassment for Mr. Watson and his associates, after receiving a Nazi medal and meeting Mr. Hitler himself in person.

Recent Techrights' Posts

Names Are Not Unique IDs and the UK Government's "Digital ID System" Would be a Nightmare
Digital surveillance, "apps", and worse (all the time)
Why the EPO Never Managed to Silence Us (After Over a Decade of Trying)
Firms like Mishcon de Reya and Brett Wilson LLP contribute to a bad stigma, staining the entire occupation
It Feels Like Brett Wilson LLP Has Just Tacitly Admitted That It Defamed Me
It arguably admitted many other things by refusing to deny or address them (altogether)
 
Almost a Couple of Years After Microsoft Hijacked the Name 'Sudo' (to Describe Unrelated Windows Stuff) Microsoft Canonical Breaks Sudo in Ubuntu
These are vandals in "goodwill" or "security" clothing
Does the Good Law Project (GLP) Know the Director of Brett Wilson LLP Deems It OK to Endorse Violent Actions Against Trans People?
We were miffed to see this morning's report
What is Roy and Rianne's Righteously Royalty-free RSS Reader?
A news reader that uses OPML files and parses RSS feeds
The Free Software Foundation (FSF) Turns 40 in 5 Days
We should be talking about software freedom, not "Open Source"
Stefano Maffulli's Front Page Mentions "AI" 11 Times
They're more focused on slop (plagiarism) than sharing or Software Freedom
CMS Rot
With "modern" (bloated) content management systems (CMSs) there is a long chain of dependencies
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, September 28, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, September 28, 2025
Slopwatch: Fake Articles About Linux 6.17 and Microsoft Meddling in Linux Development
today's Slopwatch is short because the picks are from Sunday
Gemini Links 29/09/2025: The Labor Wars and Retro
Links for the day
Links 28/09/2025: Windows TCO, Security Breaches, and Deutsche Bahn Woes
Links for the day
Datacentres Aren't Reliable for Backups
bad practices cause immeasurable levels of permanent data losses each and every day
Links 28/09/2025: Science, Censorship, and Security Incidents/Advisories
Links for the day
Gemini Links 28/09/2025: Golem and Cybertrucks
Links for the day
Links 28/09/2025: Moldova Elections, LLM Slop Failing Again to Accomplish Anything
Links for the day
Links 28/09/2025: Slop Does More Harm, Newly Released Epstein Estate Documents
Links for the day
Links 28/09/2025: Fentanylware (TikTok) 'Going Private' (the Dictator's Media Allies) and UK Mirror Lays Off More Journalists
Links for the day
A Year Ago, Only a Few Weeks After We Countersued the 'Hulk Hogan of UEFI', Our Webhost Came Under Attack
At the end of September 2024 our webhost received several threats
If Only Someone Warned Us About This...
Ubuntu is committing suicide with Rusty code
The Register - Kissing the hand that feeds it
hired to manage the publication several people connected to Microsoft, including the new Editor in Chief
The Myths of "Linux" and of "Intelligence"
As noted this morning
People Remembered GNU's Birthday (Which Helps Remind People It All Started in 1983, Not 1991)
Have the FSF and GNU earned the respect they deserve?
Slopwatch: Ponzi Schemes Promoted by Media Companies, Linux Journal Turning Its 30-Year Reputation to Dust, and Serial Slopper Brian Fagioli Plagiarising, As Usual
This bubble will end up very badly
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, September 27, 2025
IRC logs for Saturday, September 27, 2025
Links 27/09/2025: Squashing Software Patents and When Hospitals Become For-Profit
Links for the day
Gemini Links 27/09/2025: Young Feet and Online Bots
Links for the day
GNU Project Turns 42
In 2033 it'll be 50
Next Step: Find Out Who's Funding the 'Hulk Hogan of UEFI' to SLAPP Us
We now have the 'Hulk Hogan of UEFI' working alongside a strangler of women, who as a Microsoft employee spent time in prison for it
Web Sites That Are Independent Are Also Like Software Projects (Sometimes Literally So)
Roll out your own 'stack'
Pieter Hintjens on Codes of Misconduct a Decade Ago
original is still online
Links 27/09/2025: Australia Might Ban Microsoft GitHub for Young People, Likely Illegal Executive Order Turns TikTok Into Cheeto Propaganda
Links for the day
Repeating the Lies to Promote a Ponzi Scheme is Not OK Because "Many Other Sites Do This" (Including Slopfarms)
They already work on the next Ponzi scheme
The Register MS (Situation Publishing) is Participating in a Ponzi Scheme
The market in "tech" seems awful when a lot of it sells a fraud and journalism about this market is part of the fraud
Glimmer of Hope: More People Realise and Come to Accept "AI" is Just a Giant, Elaborate Ponzi/Pyramid Scheme That Will Leave Everyone Worse Off (Except the "Top of the Pyramid")
quoting Einhorn and some comments
Mass Layoffs in Starbucks... and Society Loses Nothing of Value
Society might even be better off if Starbucks shuts down entirely
Do Your Job and Demand Your Compensation - But in That Order.
We'll do our best to convince the Judge to award all costs to us (lawyers, barrister, LIP bills etc.) plus judgements against them, for abusive litigation and needless suffering associated with that abuse
Matthew J. Garrett Behaved in a Similar Fashion to 4Chan and Kiwi Farms
Opposites attract? Are they opposites at all?
Drew DeVault Suggests "CoC Enhancement", Starts Trolling Projects in Microsoft GitHub
And it backfires immediately
Like Nazi Germany and Volkswagen
Tell us all about "freedom" when your government runs a Ponzi scheme
Microsoft Sponsored This Man, Microsoft Sponsored His Behaviour (and He Controls Microsoft)
They get what they paid for
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, September 26, 2025
IRC logs for Friday, September 26, 2025
He Talks Too Much, He Says Dumb Things
only British when that suits him
Slopwatch: FUD and Plagiarism (Working Against Linux) Promoted and Rewarded by Google News
Shame on Google News