DEV Community

Discussion on: 9 problems with replacing "master" in Git

Collapse
 
kodikos profile image
Jodi Winters

Not that it should matter greatly for the reasons that you say, but for #2, I went looking a bit further into the etymology to confirm this. From a quick look on etymonline reveals its earliest uses in old english, master was used to represent a chief or leader, then from 12th century as someone proficient in a skill. A bit more of a sense of people ownership develops in the 14th century, but in the 17th century it gained its association with slavery. As you say, we use it much more in skills mastering and the recording industry use these days (we have plenty of other terms for people ownership, like manager, boss, CEO!!). I think it has gained a new meaning as representing the origin or single source of truth, but I can't find any free etymology describing the origins of this use.

If, as you say, this is some kind of knee-jerk reaction white people thought up to sate the black lives matter movement, then it shows we simply aren't listening, which is the bigger problem to tackle. I'm glad you researched the views of black developers, that does count!