Re:Tell HN: GitHub will delete your private repo if you lose...
by jrockway on Tuesday January 31, 2023 @07:11PM
(#34604315)
I'm willing to go out of my way to use a different word if it makes people feel better (the root of the master -> main transition). But this is the rare case where it benefits me by having to type two less characters whenever I refer to the branch! main is truly a win/win.
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Re:Tell HN: GitHub will delete your private repo if you lose...
by Alupis on Tuesday January 31, 2023 @07:39PM
(#34604595)
> I'm willing to go out of my way to use a different word if it makes people feel better
Which is just the thing, really. It makes no one feel better. It makes the privileged speaker feel better, with a false sense of virtue. It's a "look at how great I am" signal, nothing more.
No one is harmed or made to feel bad by using the word master. Sometimes the adults have to be present in the room, it seems.
Saving 2 characters is an equally silly excuse, but at least it has a realistic rationale. To that end, why stop at main - why not just 'm'? You can call it whatever you want in git.
Re:Tell HN: GitHub will delete your private repo if you lose...
by benatkin on Tuesday January 31, 2023 @07:54PM
(#34604769)
It's because main is a goldilocks word for something like a default branch name. It isn't too long and isn't too short. It also isn't shorter in terms of syllables.
Good design :)