While the Linux kernel has inclusive terminology guidelines for the past five years to replace phrases like master/slave and blacklist/whitelist, there has surprisingly been a “genocide” function within the kernel that was questioned when it was first submitted for inclusion but now removed in Linux 6.19.
Introduced to the Linux kernel back in 2023 was the d_genocide() function as part of various dcache updates to the kernel. The genocide name was questioned when the patches were first posted by longtime Linux developer Al Viro
Why is it always the “it’s just a word bro” types who gnash their own eyes out over the prospect of changing one of those words?
The reason I tend to object to these things is that bikeshedding isn’t free, it creates work and technical debt. That raises the bar for changes we ought to make, and I think it raises it quite a lot higher than objections which are frequently specific to the US and are largely imaginary (which is my honest interpretation of most of these changes).
That said, “genocide” is clearly unnecessarily provocative. It’s also not an industry-wide change, it’s just one function, so this particular change seems sensible to me
The people who legitimately hold the view that it’s just a word might be a little frustrated at the small bit of extra work of needing to change their scripts or code that uses those words to the new words, but otherwise no big deal. But a lot of “it’s just a word bro” folks actually do care and just like to pretend they do not for clout, because caring is for lame losers and being able to falsely present yourself as a previously-neutral party now moved to care by how stupid something is can hold a lot of weight when convincing others and make you feel cool.
Fuckin exactly.
“It’s stupid to change it to main, it’s just words”
“Oh, so since it’s just a word change I guess you shouldn’t be bothered by it.”
I always get them with “main is shorter than master, don’t you want to type less?”
In software engineering, saying “it’s just a word change” without a technical rationale ought to have you murdered on the spot.
displays of tightassery & people sick of it
we should just go for the most offensive source code possible & fuck this noise