Hi Michael, On Sun, 14 Jun 2020, Michael Felt (aixtools) wrote: > Btw. The default branch, if it must have a new default label - how about > calling it “default”? This has been considered. In fact, I originally worked on the patches under the assumption that "default" would make for a good term here. However, there are a couple of arguments against it that I found convincing: - There are actually two concepts at play here: the actual main branch in a concrete repository, and the default name we use for that branch when initializing a new repository. In this mail thread, we are talking about the latter. It does sound needlessly confusing when you spell out "the default name of the default branch", which at least to me is a good indicator that there must be a better term to choose. - While it is true that we are talking about the branch that is checked out during a `git clone` by default, it is definitely not the default branch name for your development in many flows: Typically when starting some new work, your default is _not_ to work on the main branch, but to branch off new topic branch. - Imagine you are in serious financial trouble and have to see the word "default" every day. It might not seem like a very convincing argument to those among us who are far away from such financial troubles, although for the less fortunate, we would create yet another source of distress. My current working hypothesis is that `main` would make for the best term to use. Let me offer a couple arguments why that is. - It seems to describe best what this branch is about. It's not anybody's default to develop on this branch; Instead, it is where the main part of the work eventually lands (just like in the "main branch" of a company). - The name "main" is short and sweet. - It might sound silly, but muscle memory is a thing. And ma<TAB> will still work with main. I bring this up because I would not have expected this to matter in practice, but my personal experience of the last few days contradicts that expectation. - Looking at my Twitter feed, I see a trend toward using "main". Ciao, Johannes
