Final statement from Steering Council on politically-charged commit messages

[Tim Daneliuk]

On 8/17/20 1:26 PM, Chris Angelico wrote:
> For context, see this commit:
> 
> https://github.com/python/peps/commit/0c6427dcec1e98ca0bd46a876a7219ee4a9347f4
> 
> The commit message is highly politically charged and is now a
> permanent part of the Python commit history. The Python Steering
> Council has this to say:
> 
> https://github.com/python/steering-council/issues/34#issuecomment-675028005
> 
> "The SC discussed this and ... we do not deplore the message."
> 
> So now we know: go ahead and put all the political messages you like
> into the commit messages, just don't put anything inappropriate into
> the content. White supremacy has been mentioned; who wants to pick the
> next hot topic?
> 
> ChrisA
> 
Just a few thoughts here ...

- While languages evolve over time, _in any given moment_ there are better
  and worse ways to express ideas in a given language. "The Elements Of Style"
  remains relevant today because it provides guidance on improving
  written clarity.  It is not some blind defence of the
  perfect English.

- Precision of language and precision of thought go hand in hand.  Much
  of the grousing about languages standards (in this case, hiding in
  drag as social consciousness) is little more than intellectual laziness.
  In actual fact, our discipline has burned a lot of intellectual
  fuel in trying to find ways to be _more precise_ for things like
  specifications, formal semantics, and the like.

- It is my consistent experience when working with non-native English
  speakers, that they wish to _improve_ their use and precision of the
  language, not simplify it.

- Why is English the only target of these social pieties?  You never
  hear these demands to relax these linguistic standards for, say, French,
  German, or Spanish.  Similarly, where is the outcry to make
  Mandarin, Bantu, Swahili, or Arabic more approachable for
  Westerners?

Methinks there is an ideological skunk in the parlor ...