SEP 28: proposal to add inclusive-language #37
Conversation
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| | Master/slave | Leader/follower, primary/replica, primary/standby | |
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Salt does not use the word "slave". None of the preferred terms accurately describe the role of the master.
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I tried to include a list of terms that have been provided by other companies as general alternatives. I understand that in this context, the alternative names do not provide an accurate label. While "slave" is not included in any of Salt's language, the term "master" ,on its own, is enough. Having to have a conversation about why a word isn't racist, right or wrong in the given context, highlights the need to change it. A possible alternative name might be "commander". This could be tied into the branding as well, "Salt Commander, helping lead the good fight in SecOps".
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right or wrong in the given context
So we should just accept the wrong thing as being true? Or pander to minority groups by making mindless, meaningless changes?
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right or wrong in the given context
So we should just accept the wrong thing as being true? Or pander to minority groups by making mindless, meaningless changes?
"mindless, meaningless changes" feels like a strong statement with many other software companies seeing value in removing these terms. Even Github themselves now prefer main vs master https://github.com/github/renaming/
VMware seems to have an opinion, which will hopefully impact Salt https://www.vmware.com/company/news/updates/replacing-problematic-terminology.html
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VMware seems to have an opinion
Hopefully that means we don't have to argue about it. There's no need for an SEP if they just make the decision.
many other software companies
Doing it because everyone else has is a pretty good definition of "mindless". Github especially have been widely criticised for it, as the word "master" in that context doesn't even anything to do with being in charge.
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While I agree with the sentiment around master in the context of Salt doesn't evoke comparisons to a very controversial past, there's no doubt a not-insignificant number of people do (regardless of context). Might I suggest the most appropriate alternative be "director?"
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To continue the bikeshedding a bit, and maybe explore some history, I'll throw in my $0.02USD.
Salt has never used "master/slave" terminology, AFAIK, but has been "master/minion". The origins of minion seem to come from the French "mignon" -- which meant "a king's favorite". Eventually it came to just mean a hanger-on, a follower.
Master, in the Salt master/minion relationship definitely applies to the 14c use of "one who has the power to control, use, or dispose at will". Obviously the word also has strong ties to slavery, especially American slavery. As @ggiesen rightly states, for many people the word "master" evokes those ties -- so it is worth avoiding.
If the term master is off the table then, what's the most accurate term we can use to replace it? Well, the Moby thesaurus has a multitude of options, but I'll just provide a handful:
- boss
- captain
- chief
- commander
- controller
- director (suggested by @ggiesen)
- executive
- instructor
- maven
- owner
- proprietor
- wizard
The fantasy fan in me wouldn't mind a wizard casting spells, but a change like that definitely requires an alternate reality 
Out of the rest of these, controller seems most accurate to me. Director is a good choice, but at least in my experience a director's instructions can be flexible or ambiguous. In Salt, that's not the case. Instructions sent to the minions must be followed precisely and accurately. The computers must be controlled. Which sounds a bit like the beginning of a dystopian sci-fi movie, TBH 😂
Anyway - those are my thoughts on the color of this bikeshed 🙃
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Internally we called our setup salt-director. moving away from salt-master needs to happen IMHO
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Yeah I thought "director" might be a good term because of synergies with other VMware products (vCloud Director). Of course, the opposite might be true and there could be concern about confusion
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I really like salt-hero as a potential, too.
Working with heroes makes it sound like we all have superpowers when using salt.
We could also make use of salt-sidekick in relation to other things, maybe kinds of minions or minions in general, depending on how complex the renaming initiative may end up developing into.
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@justindesilets thank you for submitting a SEP! We are committed to using inclusive language and are willing to see this SEP through even as we have many changes on the horizon. We will keep this open, of course, and look forward to adding what we can to the conversation. Thank you! |
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This SEP was discussed at the 2020-10-08 Open Hour:
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My 2 cents - The word Master shouldn't be considered offensive when not used with the term Slave. Master/Minion is not the same as Master/Slave. |
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This SEP was discussed at the 2020-11-19 Open Hour:
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https://www.vmware.com/company/news/updates/replacing-problematic-terminology.html VMware also have an internal list of specific words and the replacements. I will not list all of them here, but will list those that seem most relevant to the Open Source Salt Project: abort - stop, cancel, halt prematurely, end prematurely, stop prematurely |
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Changing the master branch name requires all Ports to Master project board is completed (or each PR is explicitly decided to port to new branch), timelines is set forth and communicated, and a plan to change is well documented, communicated, and visible then executed accordingly. |
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We do have rough consensus that inclusive language will be used and changing the |
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I am moving this proposal in the |
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Apologies for the long hiatus, we're working to refocus on getting SEPs through the process. There has been much discussion on this SEP. The main point of concern has been around Salt's master/minion terminology. All the other non-inclusive terms had resistance. SEP 34 (PR #54) was created to specifically address all of the discussion around the other terminology. Unless there are objections, we should go ahead and mark this as replaced by SEP 34. |
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This SEP is appreciated, especially as it provided a starting discussion point. However, we will close this as obsolete, in favor of #54 |
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