Master and slave

[Spongebob]

This might be controversial.  I work in an industry that has an imbedded phrase that dates to the era of chattel slavery.  It seems anachronistic now and inappropriate.  The term is master and slave, referring to a program or system that is the leader (master) and one or more that is the follower (slave).  The terms can be applied in a variety of ways, but I believe it's time to retire them in lieu of terms that don't have origins in human slavery.  Yes, the outrage over Political Correctness (PC) will now ensue.  I know what some of you are going to say.  But ask this; why does it matter?  No one owns rights to these terms and they don't do anything or help anyone in any way.  It's merely switching to other terms that don't bring to mind a time in which white men enslaved black people.  Other terms work just as well, primary/secondary, mother/daughter, parent/children, leader/follower.  I just know that it feel weird to me to be sitting in a meeting that includes black people and using the terms master/slave.  Language changes all the time, with new words and phrases coming in and old ones being forgotten.  With what I know of how some new words become common, it seems more meaningful that some are replaced with good intentions.

[vulcanlogician]

I guess a lot of Americans think of American slavery when they hear the terms master and slave. Especially Southerners. I think of ancient slavery. I bet a lot of Europeans do too (I'm an American Northerner).

I like the spirit behind your idea, but isn't it a bit of a superficial task? (Not to mention tedious?)

I'm not knocking it. Just offering up criticisms.

[Ahriman]

This might be controversial.  I work in an industry that has an imbedded phrase that dates to the era of chattel slavery.  It seems anachronistic now and inappropriate.  The term is master and slave, referring to a program or system that is the leader (master) and one or more that is the follower (slave).  The terms can be applied in a variety of ways, but I believe it's time to retire them in lieu of terms that don't have origins in human slavery.  Yes, the outrage over Political Correctness (PC) will now ensue.  I know what some of you are going to say.  But ask this; why does it matter?  No one owns rights to these terms and they don't do anything or help anyone in any way.  It's merely switching to other terms that don't bring to mind a time in which white men enslaved black people.  Other terms work just as well, primary/secondary, mother/daughter, parent/children, leader/follower.  I just know that it feel weird to me to be sitting in a meeting that includes black people and using the terms master/slave.  Language changes all the time, with new words and phrases coming in and old ones being forgotten.  With what I know of how some new words become common, it seems more meaningful that some are replaced with good intentions.

You're too sensitive.

[Ranjr]

SPI lines MISO and MOSI are now COPI and CIPO in some circles and SDO and SDI in others.  They're just letters on a schematic to me.  Whatever, just pick one.  The talk began in the 90s with master keeping it's designation and "slave" becoming "remote."

[Deesse23]

SPI lines MISO and MOSI are now COPI and CIPO in some circles and SDO and SDI in others.  They're just letters on a schematic to me.  Whatever, just pick one.  The talk began in the 90s with master keeping it's designation and "slave" becoming "remote."

Dont forget CS

[zwanzig]

Honestly, I saw the title and thought this thread was about BDSM. It didn't occur to me to think of historical slavery until I started reading the OP.

[Divinity]

This might be controversial.  I work in an industry that has an imbedded phrase that dates to the era of chattel slavery.  It seems anachronistic now and inappropriate.  The term is master and slave, referring to a program or system that is the leader (master) and one or more that is the follower (slave).  The terms can be applied in a variety of ways, but I believe it's time to retire them in lieu of terms that don't have origins in human slavery.  Yes, the outrage over Political Correctness (PC) will now ensue.  I know what some of you are going to say.  But ask this; why does it matter?  No one owns rights to these terms and they don't do anything or help anyone in any way.  It's merely switching to other terms that don't bring to mind a time in which white men enslaved black people.  Other terms work just as well, primary/secondary, mother/daughter, parent/children, leader/follower.  I just know that it feel weird to me to be sitting in a meeting that includes black people and using the terms master/slave.  Language changes all the time, with new words and phrases coming in and old ones being forgotten.  With what I know of how some new words become common, it seems more meaningful that some are replaced with good intentions.

You're too sensitive.

You're too insensitive.

[Soberman921]

The key to language is communication and understanding. If there's a way to accomplish both while avoiding offense, I think that's the way to go. I suspect that master/slave when used in the industry context is understood in its technical sense and shorn of much of its historical baggage, but if it bothers you or you suspect it may be causing offense, then see if another phrase will effectively convey the same meaning and switch to that. Maybe it will catch on.

[HappySkeptic]

The tech industry has been moving away from master/slave descriptions for years.  New words are mentioned here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Master/slave_(technology)

I found the term jarring when I first heard it, though what is most important is that the words accurately describe the operation and architecture.  Master/slave is not the most accurate in most cases.  Is the "slave" going to get beaten if it doesn't do its job?  Does it have the option of disobeying?  Does it have some degree of autonomy?

Controller is usually a better term than master (though master is a perfectly good adjective to mean "main", for instance "master controller"), but the real problem is with the word "slave".  It needs replacement with a more accurate term, and everyone is coming up with their own based on the actual use-case.

[Ahriman]

The key to language is communication and understanding. If there's a way to accomplish both while avoiding offense, I think that's the way to go. I suspect that master/slave when used in the industry context is understood in its technical sense and shorn of much of its historical baggage, but if it bothers you or you suspect it may be causing offense, then see if another phrase will effectively convey the same meaning and switch to that. Maybe it will catch on.

Right, exactly. Nobody should be offended by such wording. We can't just change everything because some people's feelings might get hurt if we don't change things. There's nothing logical about that.