this post was submitted on 30 Aug 2026
835 points (98.4% liked)

Programmer Humor

33055 readers
2230 users here now

Welcome to Programmer Humor!

This is a place where you can post jokes, memes, humor, etc. related to programming!

For sharing awful code theres also Programming Horror.

Rules

founded 3 years ago
MODERATORS
 
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] afk_strats@lemmy.world 38 points 1 day ago (4 children)

Tbf, we're trying to get away from that one

[–] kibiz0r@midwest.social 16 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Has there been “slave” anywhere for a while? The last time I can think is PATA, which is ancient by now.

It seems like most (all?) uses of “master” these days are in the sense of a “master copy”, which doesn’t really have a “master/slave” dynamic to it.

[–] UnfortunateShort@lemmy.world 5 points 1 day ago

Yep, gotta work with that on a daily basis because its in the protocol I have to work with.

[–] gastroglizzy@piefed.social 13 points 1 day ago

Yeah, I've heard. I've always associated the terms with dom/sub play, not slavery.

I get the reasoning as to why, but it seems odd to me that the IT terms were fixated on, but not the engineering terms; "master" and "slave" are still the accepted terms in the context of hydraulic systems, for example.

It's also generally accepted that "retard" and "retarded" are generally acceptable terms when used in an engineering context. If we can accept that some terms are accepted in the a technical context, it seems inconsistent not to apply the same thinking to IT terminology.

Just more stuff to keep us bickering with each other so we don't look up and realize where all the real problems are coming from, imo.

[–] aburrito@sh.itjust.works 14 points 1 day ago (1 children)

And I’m so glad, and my boomer coworkers still complain

[–] ILikeBoobies@lemmy.ca 12 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I don't see the issue but I find Dom/Sub better anyway.

[–] libewa@feddit.org 10 points 1 day ago

USB-OTG should just have been named USB Power Bottom. That makes USB-Type-C the embodiment of a switch.

[–] Valmond@lemmy.dbzer0.com 6 points 1 day ago (3 children)

I use main instead of master on git, but what's the substitute to slave? Especially in master/slave setups like you have 1 processor controlling a bunch of measuring equipment for example.

[–] smeg@feddit.uk 7 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I've seen controller/worker which seems pretty descriptive

[–] Valmond@lemmy.dbzer0.com 9 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Manager/wageslave 😁😌😒

It's not easy.

[–] smeg@feddit.uk 4 points 1 day ago

I think I've seen leader/follower too

[–] 5opn0o30@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)
[–] Scrollone@feddit.it 1 points 17 hours ago

Honestly, master/slave sounds so much better. But, well, slavery has been abolished centuries ago in my country, unlike the US

[–] jdr@lemmy.ml 4 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Master in git is like master record, nothing to do with slaves

[–] Valmond@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

It sure is, it's the master branch that rules over all other branches.

[–] jdr@lemmy.ml 2 points 1 day ago

You're the master of lies