KATHMANDU: Social media platform Twitter has decided to drop the terms “master”, “slave” and “blacklist” in favor of more inclusive language.

The terms are frequently used in programing codes which originated decades ago.

In programing speak, “master” refers to the main version of code that controls the “slaves,” or replicas. “Blacklist” is used to describe items that are automatically denied, typically forbidden websites.

Inclusive language plays a critical role in fostering an environment where everyone belongs. At Twitter, the language we have been using in our code does not reflect our values as a company or represent the people we serve. We want to change that. #WordsMatter https://t.co/JVO8968B7K

— Twitter Engineering (@TwitterEng) July 2, 2020

On Thursday, Twitter’s engineering division tweeted out a set of words that it wants “to move away from using in favor of more inclusive language”.

The list includes replacing “whitelist” with “allowlist” and “master/slave” with “leader/follower”.

(With inputs from Agencies)