Re: Proposal: Replace all references to master/slave in GNOME modules

[Michael Gratton <mike vee net>]

Hi Tristan,

On Wed, May 1, 2019 at 14:22, Tristan Van Berkom via desktop-devel-list 
<desktop-devel-list gnome org> wrote:
> Instead, by opening the door to censorship of words which are not
> themselves inherently vulgar or foul (i.e. 'master' is not considered 
> a
> 'swear word'), we are creating an atmosphere where people worry more
> and more whether they can express themselves freely.

This has already been covered in the original proposal under objection 
(1) "It doesn't matter". As has already been discussed, what actually 
doesn't matter is what you or I think, it is the people who have been 
affected by the language we use that matter. These are the people who 
won't contribute to GNOME because of these terms, and it is the project 
that loses out in the end.

To address some of your points directly however, this censorship in as 
much as the CoC is censorship, and as much as you already self-censor 
when choosing names for things in projects you participate in. That is 
to say, not actually censorship at all. In fact, you can see this 
proposal as simply aiming to extend the CoC to our documentation, API, 
and development infrastructure.

Further, this isn't about "offence", it is in fact about /respect/. 
It's an acknowledgement of a specific, significant past trauma that 
people and their ancestors have suffered and continue to suffer, and 
it's about respecting that so that they feel like GNOME is a project 
they in kind would like to contribute back to. That's what *actually* 
creates an inclusive atmosphere.

In the end, as the experience Python has had clearly shows, we will 
gain much, much more by being inclusive than we lose by entertaining a 
small minority who would rather we aren't.

//Mike

--
⊨ Michael Gratton, Percept Wrangler.
⚙ <http://mjog.vee.net/>