Apple to Remove 'Master/Slave' and 'Blacklist' Terms From Coding Platforms
The company is telling developers to instead use inclusive language terms such as 'primary/secondary' and 'deny list/allow list' when it comes to documenting and coding their software projects.
Apple is joining a movement to remove the racially loaded terms “master/slave" and “blacklist/whitelist” from its coding platforms.
On Thursday, the company announced it was phasing out the “non-inclusive language” across Apple’s developer ecosystem, including Xcode, a suite of software tools to create apps for the Mac and the iPhone.
For decades now, the term master/slave has been used in IT terminology to describe one device or process that controls another. However, there’s been a growing push from the programming community to retire the term and replace it with neutral language.
Apple’s updated style guide now tells developers to substitute the terms with “primary/secondary” or “host/client” in their software programs. If necessary, the master/slave term can still be permitted in the computer coding itself, but the company is calling for developers to use alternative terms in documentation manuals.
In addition, Apple is telling developers to avoid using blacklists/whitelists, another IT technology term that critics say perpetuates racial stereotyping. The company is instead recommending developers use the terms “deny list/allow list” or “unapproved list/approved list.”
| by Anonymous | reply 25 | December 2, 2021 3:53 PM
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Meanwhile, Apple censors itself for the CCP. lol
| by Anonymous | reply 1 | December 1, 2021 9:45 PM
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So will James Spader's show have to be renamed The Deny List?
| by Anonymous | reply 2 | December 1, 2021 9:47 PM
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I am on board with renaming master/slave. But what's wrong with "blacklist"?
| by Anonymous | reply 3 | December 1, 2021 9:48 PM
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Will finance companies stop using "in the black"?
| by Anonymous | reply 4 | December 1, 2021 9:52 PM
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To be fair Apple had already stopped referring to their Uyghur Muslim slaves
| by Anonymous | reply 5 | December 1, 2021 9:54 PM
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What's wrong with master/slave?
| by Anonymous | reply 6 | December 1, 2021 10:01 PM
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Decorating shows now say primary bedroom instead of master bedroom. Absurd.
| by Anonymous | reply 8 | December 1, 2021 10:30 PM
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Are Americans under the impression that slavery begins and ends with their country's history? It infuriates me to see articles about nonsense like this when there are literally millions of slaves in Asia and the Middle East TODAY. Where is the outrage? Where is the action?
| by Anonymous | reply 9 | December 1, 2021 10:35 PM
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R08 it isn't absurd. Who's the master? Of who? While technically true if employees are on residence, its otherwise a perfect example of outdated terminology.
R09 be the change you want to see.
| by Anonymous | reply 10 | December 1, 2021 10:36 PM
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"Boss and employee" doesn't have the same ring to it.
| by Anonymous | reply 11 | December 1, 2021 10:44 PM
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My slave drives will be so happy when I tell them they are free. Little do they know that nothing else about their existence will change.
This is actually happening across the industry, not just at Apple. I know someone who is upset about it, but I don't understand why. He claims it is PC culture run amok. My thought is, it isn't a big deal, and if it makes people feel bad when they hear master/slave in regards to hard drives, then why not change it?
| by Anonymous | reply 12 | December 1, 2021 10:55 PM
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[quote] remove the racially loaded terms “master/slave" and “blacklist/whitelist”
These words are not racial. They existed before black slaves were brought to the US. They existed when master and slaves were of the same race. And blacklist and whitelist have nothing to do with race at all.
| by Anonymous | reply 13 | December 1, 2021 11:21 PM
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[quote] My thought is, it isn't a big deal, and if it makes people feel bad when they hear master/slave in regards to hard drives, then why not change it?
R12, you began well, but then you went off the rails into idiocy. See R13 for the answer.
Also consider Hamlet: “...for there is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.” This isn’t meant as a plea for moral relativism in Hamlet’s mind. Yet, it introduces the idea of how the standards of the mind dictate reality for it. In this case, why create “evil” in a thing where none exists?
| by Anonymous | reply 14 | December 1, 2021 11:54 PM
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It was always a weird choice for terminology.
| by Anonymous | reply 15 | December 1, 2021 11:56 PM
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Such a niggardly way to understand language:
"I SHALL be offended no matter WHAY you say."
| by Anonymous | reply 16 | December 2, 2021 12:10 AM
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R16 Bless your heart, you tried so hard.
| by Anonymous | reply 17 | December 2, 2021 12:13 AM
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I still don't see what the problem is, R14. Changing the nomenclature from Master/Slave to Primary/Secondary doesn't infer evil in the old nomenclature, just that the old nomenclature is out-dated.
Frankly, I am still more upset that when you boot up a Mac, it no longer says Welcome to Macintosh, than I am about this change.
| by Anonymous | reply 18 | December 2, 2021 1:38 AM
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Recently saw this link to the Google style guide which says not to use “female adapter.” Kids these days are so cringe-inducing.
| by Anonymous | reply 19 | December 2, 2021 1:56 AM
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Well that’s no fun. You can’t even say batshit crazy or bonkers anymore. The 21st century blows.
| by Anonymous | reply 20 | December 2, 2021 2:23 AM
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there are more slaves on Planet Earth today than at any point in human history.
Words and terms change. There's nothing wrong with that. Its just important to not beat people up for using terms that they didn't know had been retired.
| by Anonymous | reply 22 | December 2, 2021 6:56 AM
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A cable has a dong connector on one end and a axe gash on the other. Is that better?
| by Anonymous | reply 23 | December 2, 2021 8:52 AM
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