Ubuntu developer Canonical said in an updated blog post yesterday that they are updating common computer terms that appear in their code and documentation to use "inclusive language" broadly.
According to reports, Canonical's move is promoted under the initiative of the Inclusive Naming Initiative (INI), which is a Champion-level sponsor of the initiative and one of many companies promoting this initiative. Other sponsor companies include Cisco, Intel and Red Hat.
Generally speaking, "inclusive language" means using precise technical terms that don't leave out marginalized groups or carry unnecessary emotional or historical baggage.
INI contains a list of words with different levels. The first tier (tier 1 ) includes words it believes should be replaced immediately because they are the most offensive; words in the second tier (tier 2 ) should be strongly considered for replacement; and the third tier (tier 3 ) is suggested for replacement.
For example, the words of tier 1 are: abort, abortion, whitelist, blacklist, master and slave. Replacement suggestions for these words are provided by the user: termination, allowlist, denylist, control plane and control plane node.
Is it worth changing these terms? Canonical says the answer is yes. Because professional standards are constantly changing, Canonical should meet those standards. They know the reasons behind these changes are important, and Canonical welcomes it. They are also moving quickly to meet the new expectations. Of course, the advice provided by INI is not a panacea, but a first step towards making Canonical's products and processes more inclusive.
Further reading: Canonical plans to improve Ubuntu documentation