RFC: Conscious language in the Binutils

[Mark Wielaard]

Hi Nick,

On Thu, 2020-11-05 at 11:52 +0000, Nick Clifton via Binutils wrote:
>   [I am writing this email with my Red Hat on, rather than my FSF hat].
> 
>   Inside Red Hat there is an initiative to address some of the language
>   used in open source projects, making it more inclusive:
>   
> https://www.redhat.com/en/blog/making-open-source-more-inclusive-eradicating-problematic-language

I think you can keep your FSF hat on since the FSF have campaigns with
similar goals:
https://www.fsf.org/campaigns/priority-projects/contribute

The free software movement is a movement for everyone's freedom. It
cannot succeed if it does not expand and make the effort to welcome all
people.

Even if we cannot come to a comprehensive binutils wide policy on
conscious language at this time I think the concrete patch you produced
is a good one. The use of 'main', 'controlling', 'built-in' and 'uses'
clears up what is really going on. It makes the code/comments more
clear and avoids some language which people have said they find
troublesome. Well done. Please do push this.

Cheers,

Mark