Hi Vivien, On Mon, Feb 17 2025, Vivien Kraus wrote:
> Maybe we could be a bit more explicit instead of “may be perceived as > harmful”, if the case needs to be made stronger. For instance, “the > current default, “master”, evokes a metaphor for a political > organization based on inequality. Seeking greater precision is worthwhile, so let's also note for the sake of completeness that the noun 'master' has twelve different meanings [1] or maybe more. Many of them are not offensive, although all of them express a leading or dominant quality. The present use in Guix is covered by number 12: " An original, such as an original document or audio recording, from which copies can be made." In a group the key is to reach a compromise that works for everyone. I personally find 'main' a marginal improvement as it continues to express the mental states of superiority and control that are so common in technical communities (and are why the master/slave terminology became popular in the first place). A better choice would be 'guix' which is sure to work for everyone, although it is markedly uninspired---kind of like when they named the European currency "Euro." Kind regards Felix [1] https://www.thefreedictionary.com/master
