Re: elpa.git and `new-master`

[Richard Stallman <rms@gnu.org>]

[[[ To any NSA and FBI agents reading my email: please consider    ]]]
[[[ whether defending the US Constitution against all enemies,     ]]]
[[[ foreign or domestic, requires you to follow Snowden's example. ]]]

  > The problem is that words not only have meanings but also connotations. And
  > whether you like it or not, the word 'master' evokes the word 'slave' and
  > everything associated with it.

If you mean that as a general statement, I think it is incorrect.
It appears to be true for some people, that they will think of
that spurious association, but I think most programmers will not.

Everyone has particular associations, which will usually be spurious
to the issue at hand.  That's part of being human.  For some people,
'master' in git evokes "slavery".  For some people, the number 13
evokes "unlucky".  For many people, the number 4 evokes "death".

In our work, those associations are usually spurious.  Version 13 will
not actually be unlucky, version 4 will not actually be deadly, and
the 'master' branch of a program will not be associated with actual
oppression (if the program is free).  But there will be people who
press us to avoid 13, 4 and 'master' just so they will not be reminded
of the associations.

We have to respond that that is not our problem.  We do not undertake
to declare a word taboo because it would evoke unpleasant thoughts in
your mind.  Being reminded of unpleasant memories is unavoidable in
life, and you must not pressure people to contort themselves to spare
you some of those reminders.

We must not agree to treat words that might evoke bad things as if
they _were_ the bad things.

As for the question of what to call the trunk of the repo for
NonGNU ELPA, I don't have an opinion about that.


-- 
Dr Richard Stallman
Chief GNUisance of the GNU Project (https://gnu.org)
Founder, Free Software Foundation (https://fsf.org)
Internet Hall-of-Famer (https://internethalloffame.org)