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  3. I never thought code could be racist...

I never thought code could be racist...

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  • J jeeves77

    I had a request come across today that kinda caught me off guard. I work on a project that has devices which have a "Master" and "Slave" designation. It has been that way since before my time. We're now part of a bigger enterprise, and I was told that since we are a "forward thinking and diverse company" I should change the designations in the software to read Primary and Secondary. I'm torn between fighting this "forward thinking" with subtle easter eggs or making my code less offensive (who knew?!). Apparently I am not alone. Little did I know that IDE hard drives also believed in the inherent superiority of one race over another based on a jumper setting... Have you checked for subtle hints of racism in your code lately??? :omg:

    R Offline
    R Offline
    Roger Wright
    wrote on last edited by
    #7

    There is absolutely nothing racist in the term, neither now, nor when it was first coined. It accurately describes a functional relationship - a single point of command, and one or many responsive units which have no ability to issue commands. The fact that this terminology was once used to describe a deplorable human institution in no way diminishes is value as a descriptor. I would consider it more racist to immediately think of it in terms of human slave trafficking or to be overly sensitive to being politically correct and arbitrarily changing the terms to something less "offensive" to idiots than retaining the accurate and clear existing terms.

    Will Rogers never met me.

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    • D devvvy

      JVonderharr wrote:

      I work on a project that has devices which have a "Master" and "Slave" designation. It has been that way since before my time.

      More politically correct designation as variables' name can be "leader" and "team", HR would love it.

      dev

      OriginalGriffO Offline
      OriginalGriffO Offline
      OriginalGriff
      wrote on last edited by
      #8

      The only problem I can see with this scheme is that all the old "slave" modules would have to be refactored to ensure they no longer contained the 9th letter of the alphabet. After all, as HR continually remind us: "there's no "I" in "Team".

      Ideological Purity is no substitute for being able to stick your thumb down a pipe to stop the water

      "I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony
      "Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt

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      • OriginalGriffO OriginalGriff

        The only problem I can see with this scheme is that all the old "slave" modules would have to be refactored to ensure they no longer contained the 9th letter of the alphabet. After all, as HR continually remind us: "there's no "I" in "Team".

        Ideological Purity is no substitute for being able to stick your thumb down a pipe to stop the water

        J Offline
        J Offline
        Jorgen Andersson
        wrote on last edited by
        #9

        But there's a me in awesome. And the HR is continually wrong[^].

        Light moves faster than sound. That is why some people appear bright, until you hear them speak. List of common misconceptions

        OriginalGriffO M 2 Replies Last reply
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        • J jeeves77

          I had a request come across today that kinda caught me off guard. I work on a project that has devices which have a "Master" and "Slave" designation. It has been that way since before my time. We're now part of a bigger enterprise, and I was told that since we are a "forward thinking and diverse company" I should change the designations in the software to read Primary and Secondary. I'm torn between fighting this "forward thinking" with subtle easter eggs or making my code less offensive (who knew?!). Apparently I am not alone. Little did I know that IDE hard drives also believed in the inherent superiority of one race over another based on a jumper setting... Have you checked for subtle hints of racism in your code lately??? :omg:

          L Offline
          L Offline
          Lost User
          wrote on last edited by
          #10

          Just because it is a good filosophy to treat people equally doesn't mean it's a good idea to treat machines equally too. There's nothing wrong with the idea of slavery applied to machines, only when applied to people. Also, slavery isn't necesarily racist. Many socities enslaved people of their own race, like the ancient Egyptians, Romans and Aztecs.

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          • J Jorgen Andersson

            But there's a me in awesome. And the HR is continually wrong[^].

            Light moves faster than sound. That is why some people appear bright, until you hear them speak. List of common misconceptions

            OriginalGriffO Offline
            OriginalGriffO Offline
            OriginalGriff
            wrote on last edited by
            #11

            I was going to post a link to a similar one, but it would have spoiled the joke if I had! :laugh:

            Ideological Purity is no substitute for being able to stick your thumb down a pipe to stop the water

            "I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony
            "Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt

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            • OriginalGriffO OriginalGriff

              The only problem I can see with this scheme is that all the old "slave" modules would have to be refactored to ensure they no longer contained the 9th letter of the alphabet. After all, as HR continually remind us: "there's no "I" in "Team".

              Ideological Purity is no substitute for being able to stick your thumb down a pipe to stop the water

              D Offline
              D Offline
              devvvy
              wrote on last edited by
              #12

              everytime somebody gives the team speech he's up to something no good

              dev

              OriginalGriffO 1 Reply Last reply
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              • D devvvy

                everytime somebody gives the team speech he's up to something no good

                dev

                OriginalGriffO Offline
                OriginalGriffO Offline
                OriginalGriff
                wrote on last edited by
                #13

                Indeed: my usual response is "No, but there is a 'U' in 'F**k Off'"

                Ideological Purity is no substitute for being able to stick your thumb down a pipe to stop the water

                "I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony
                "Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt

                L 1 Reply Last reply
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                • J Jorgen Andersson

                  But there's a me in awesome. And the HR is continually wrong[^].

                  Light moves faster than sound. That is why some people appear bright, until you hear them speak. List of common misconceptions

                  M Offline
                  M Offline
                  Mycroft Holmes
                  wrote on last edited by
                  #14

                  So I'm one of the A holes, problem is I'm the boss of the team!

                  Never underestimate the power of human stupidity RAH

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                  • J jeeves77

                    I had a request come across today that kinda caught me off guard. I work on a project that has devices which have a "Master" and "Slave" designation. It has been that way since before my time. We're now part of a bigger enterprise, and I was told that since we are a "forward thinking and diverse company" I should change the designations in the software to read Primary and Secondary. I'm torn between fighting this "forward thinking" with subtle easter eggs or making my code less offensive (who knew?!). Apparently I am not alone. Little did I know that IDE hard drives also believed in the inherent superiority of one race over another based on a jumper setting... Have you checked for subtle hints of racism in your code lately??? :omg:

                    A Offline
                    A Offline
                    Anna Jayne Metcalfe
                    wrote on last edited by
                    #15

                    What about "Dom" and "Sub" instead...? ;P

                    Anna :rose: Tech Blog | Visual Lint "Why would anyone prefer to wield a weapon that takes both hands at once, when they could use a lighter (and obviously superior) weapon that allows you to wield multiple ones at a time, and thus supports multi-paradigm carnage?"

                    N D B 3 Replies Last reply
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                    • A Anna Jayne Metcalfe

                      What about "Dom" and "Sub" instead...? ;P

                      Anna :rose: Tech Blog | Visual Lint "Why would anyone prefer to wield a weapon that takes both hands at once, when they could use a lighter (and obviously superior) weapon that allows you to wield multiple ones at a time, and thus supports multi-paradigm carnage?"

                      N Offline
                      N Offline
                      Nagy Vilmos
                      wrote on last edited by
                      #16

                      --- This is me not making any comment ---


                      Panic, Chaos, Destruction. My work here is done. Drink. Get drunk. Fall over - P O'H OK, I will win to day or my name isn't Ethel Crudacre! - DD Ethel Crudacre I cannot live by bread alone. Bacon and ketchup are needed as well. - Trollslayer Have a bit more patience with newbies. Of course some of them act dumb - they're often *students*, for heaven's sake - Terry Pratchett

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                      • A Anna Jayne Metcalfe

                        What about "Dom" and "Sub" instead...? ;P

                        Anna :rose: Tech Blog | Visual Lint "Why would anyone prefer to wield a weapon that takes both hands at once, when they could use a lighter (and obviously superior) weapon that allows you to wield multiple ones at a time, and thus supports multi-paradigm carnage?"

                        D Offline
                        D Offline
                        Dalek Dave
                        wrote on last edited by
                        #17

                        Dom[^] and Sub[^]?

                        --------------------------------- I will never again mention that I was the poster of the One Millionth Lounge Post, nor that it was complete drivel. Dalek Dave CCC Link[^]

                        A 1 Reply Last reply
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                        • A Anna Jayne Metcalfe

                          What about "Dom" and "Sub" instead...? ;P

                          Anna :rose: Tech Blog | Visual Lint "Why would anyone prefer to wield a weapon that takes both hands at once, when they could use a lighter (and obviously superior) weapon that allows you to wield multiple ones at a time, and thus supports multi-paradigm carnage?"

                          B Offline
                          B Offline
                          BobJanova
                          wrote on last edited by
                          #18

                          Now that could liven up architecture discussions ...

                          A 1 Reply Last reply
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                          • J jeeves77

                            I had a request come across today that kinda caught me off guard. I work on a project that has devices which have a "Master" and "Slave" designation. It has been that way since before my time. We're now part of a bigger enterprise, and I was told that since we are a "forward thinking and diverse company" I should change the designations in the software to read Primary and Secondary. I'm torn between fighting this "forward thinking" with subtle easter eggs or making my code less offensive (who knew?!). Apparently I am not alone. Little did I know that IDE hard drives also believed in the inherent superiority of one race over another based on a jumper setting... Have you checked for subtle hints of racism in your code lately??? :omg:

                            B Offline
                            B Offline
                            BobJanova
                            wrote on last edited by
                            #19

                            Your management is being stupid. There's nothing intrinsically racist about master/slave, and although it's obviously wrong to put people in a position of slavery, there's nothing at all wrong with putting a machine in that state. Master/slave describes a particular type of relationship where the slave device does nothing except execute commands sent to it from the master, which primary/secondary doesn't adequately describe. If you have to change it, 'controller/worker' would be better. But really I just hate this sort of 'look at us we're being super diverse' PC nonsense.

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                            • D Dalek Dave

                              Dom[^] and Sub[^]?

                              --------------------------------- I will never again mention that I was the poster of the One Millionth Lounge Post, nor that it was complete drivel. Dalek Dave CCC Link[^]

                              A Offline
                              A Offline
                              Anna Jayne Metcalfe
                              wrote on last edited by
                              #20

                              I'll take the former, please. ;P

                              Anna :rose: Tech Blog | Visual Lint "Why would anyone prefer to wield a weapon that takes both hands at once, when they could use a lighter (and obviously superior) weapon that allows you to wield multiple ones at a time, and thus supports multi-paradigm carnage?"

                              1 Reply Last reply
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                              • B BobJanova

                                Now that could liven up architecture discussions ...

                                A Offline
                                A Offline
                                Anna Jayne Metcalfe
                                wrote on last edited by
                                #21

                                That would be the intention! Just beware the "Dominator" pattern. It never ends well.

                                Anna :rose: Tech Blog | Visual Lint "Why would anyone prefer to wield a weapon that takes both hands at once, when they could use a lighter (and obviously superior) weapon that allows you to wield multiple ones at a time, and thus supports multi-paradigm carnage?"

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                                • H H Brydon

                                  JVonderharr wrote:

                                  I work on a project that has devices which have a "Master" and "Slave" designation.

                                  This was actually common terminology in the 1960s through 1980s, mostly for hardware, but with some leakage into software. Look at architecture details for the PDP-11 and VAX-11 for example. The Unibus has master/slave terms all over it (Bus Master, Slave Word Out, Slave Lower Byte In etc.) I think SCSI drives also have Bus Master as well to don't they? During the late 1970s, all software and new hardware architectures started using the terms "client" and "server", but existing architectures didn't change gratuitously. I was around then and don't believe that there was any intended racism involved ... it was more a small group of people being a little offended and perhaps some precaution from company's legal departments. Sort of like a sports team franchise nowadays. No way would you now see a new team with a name of 'Braves', 'Eskimos' or 'Redskins' but the existing teams aren't really changing (yet). Repeat after me - "client ... server". Feel better?

                                  -- Harvey

                                  J Offline
                                  J Offline
                                  Jonathan Nethercott
                                  wrote on last edited by
                                  #22

                                  Master/Slave and Server/Client really aren't the same at all. From Wikipedia: Master/slave is a model of communication where one device or process has unidirectional control over one or more other devices. In some systems a master is elected from a group of eligible devices, with the other devices acting in the role of slaves. The client/server characteristic describes the relationship of cooperating programs in an application. The server component provides a function or service to one or many clients, which initiate requests for such services.

                                  Quote:

                                  I was told that since we are a "forward thinking and diverse company" I should change the designations in the software to read Primary and Secondary.

                                  Primary and Secondary is even worse. This all sounds like something out of Dilbert. Your project is doomed.

                                  Jon CodeWrite

                                  H 1 Reply Last reply
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                                  • OriginalGriffO OriginalGriff

                                    Indeed: my usual response is "No, but there is a 'U' in 'F**k Off'"

                                    Ideological Purity is no substitute for being able to stick your thumb down a pipe to stop the water

                                    L Offline
                                    L Offline
                                    Lost User
                                    wrote on last edited by
                                    #23

                                    Or, there is a U in sunshine. I particularly like this one; I was in a meeting the other day and someone said "You know it seems to me that we have two ears and one mouth, so maybe we should talk less and listen more". To which I replied "Well you have two legs and one brain, so perhaps you should think less and fuck off more".

                                    Every man can tell how many goats or sheep he possesses, but not how many friends. Shed Petition[^]

                                    OriginalGriffO 1 Reply Last reply
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                                    • L Lost User

                                      Or, there is a U in sunshine. I particularly like this one; I was in a meeting the other day and someone said "You know it seems to me that we have two ears and one mouth, so maybe we should talk less and listen more". To which I replied "Well you have two legs and one brain, so perhaps you should think less and fuck off more".

                                      Every man can tell how many goats or sheep he possesses, but not how many friends. Shed Petition[^]

                                      OriginalGriffO Offline
                                      OriginalGriffO Offline
                                      OriginalGriff
                                      wrote on last edited by
                                      #24

                                      Monitor wipe to aisle 3!

                                      Ideological Purity is no substitute for being able to stick your thumb down a pipe to stop the water

                                      "I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony
                                      "Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt

                                      1 Reply Last reply
                                      0
                                      • D devvvy

                                        JVonderharr wrote:

                                        I work on a project that has devices which have a "Master" and "Slave" designation. It has been that way since before my time.

                                        More politically correct designation as variables' name can be "leader" and "team", HR would love it.

                                        dev

                                        L Offline
                                        L Offline
                                        Lost User
                                        wrote on last edited by
                                        #25

                                        If we're trying to please HR how about "facilitator" and "equallyValuableEntity"?

                                        Every man can tell how many goats or sheep he possesses, but not how many friends. Shed Petition[^]

                                        1 Reply Last reply
                                        0
                                        • J jeeves77

                                          I had a request come across today that kinda caught me off guard. I work on a project that has devices which have a "Master" and "Slave" designation. It has been that way since before my time. We're now part of a bigger enterprise, and I was told that since we are a "forward thinking and diverse company" I should change the designations in the software to read Primary and Secondary. I'm torn between fighting this "forward thinking" with subtle easter eggs or making my code less offensive (who knew?!). Apparently I am not alone. Little did I know that IDE hard drives also believed in the inherent superiority of one race over another based on a jumper setting... Have you checked for subtle hints of racism in your code lately??? :omg:

                                          L Offline
                                          L Offline
                                          Lost User
                                          wrote on last edited by
                                          #26

                                          JVonderharr wrote:

                                          Have you checked for subtle hints of racism in your code lately??? :OMG:

                                          Hyper-political correctness. The correct term is "master and slave", not primary and secondary. The nutcase who came up with the idea used two words with a vast different meaning than the original terms. Primary and secondary implies that the secondary structure equals the primary. Master and slave is not only undubious, it is very clear TECHNICAL language. The uneducated should not even try to understand those words and keep their hypocrisy to themselves. Even if it were a near-correct description, there is no-one who would be offended by the terms, their fakkin' part of history and you're not getting the blood of your hands by simply denying history. If anything, it's worse than the original. What ********* would recommend to change the source-code to reflect it being 'politically correct'?? Must be someone who is swimming in money and doesn't mind that tested code could be broken, by something that does not add any value whatsoever.

                                          Bastard Programmer from Hell :suss: if you can't read my code, try converting it here[^]

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