> For example: git master branch. We had a HUGE kerfuffle over that, to the point where even GitHub now gives git init examples that create and rename the master branch to "main". This was a pointless exercise that served no useful purpose other than to make a bunch of social justice warriors feel important.

Does changing my git branch naming practice harm me? No. Does it encourage me to be more thoughtful about how I use language in general, even if that particular case probably doesn’t really matter? Yes. I see that as an absolute win.

By the way, Git’s release notes explicitly mention a desire to “wean ourselves off of the hardcoded ‘master’”[0]. GitHub is just following the intended use of the tool that it wraps.

> people do crave status, and will subconsciously tweak their beliefs to put them on the virtuous side of whatever they're doing

Why is it bad that people try to be virtuous, and why do you think that wanting to be virtuous implies a desire for status?

[0] https://lore.kernel.org/git/xmqq5za8hpir.fsf@gitster.c.googl...