[general_failure]

Is there a list of objectionable words/language that one is not supposed to use? A quick search on the f-work gives thousands of hits on github.

[shawnps]

Interestingly, a search for "retard" in code on GitHub yields over 200,000 results:

https://github.com/search?q=retard&type=Code&utf8=%E2%9C%93

Not sure what made this particular case different.

[barsonme]

Or, decidedly even more offensive: https://github.com/search?utf8=%E2%9C%93&q=nigger&type=Code&...

[austenallred]

Probably that someone complained

[EugeneOZ]

I don't understand why they don't filter it on upload stage ("push"). "git push" > "sorry, can't push because of words: [list of words here]". Is it more difficult than later disable whole repo because of one stupid joke?

[slantyyz]

Isn't the name "git" (and therefore "github") itself considered pejorative? IIRC, Linus did name the tool after the British slang word.

"Git is a mild pejorative with origins in British English for a silly, incompetent, stupid, annoying, senile, elderly or childish person. It is usually an insult, more severe than twit or idiot but less severe than wanker, arsehole or (redacted)."

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Git_(slang)

ps. Yes, I'm a prude. And yes, I redacted a word from the Wikipedia definition above.

[saryant]

Github is an American company and the use of the word "git" in American English is not at all common. They may not know.

That said, I find this whole thing to be silly. What can you possibly get out of choosing to be the word police?

[JoshTriplett]

Those aren't typically derogatory descriptions of people, though. Profanity isn't necessarily an issue; derogatory language is. I'd expect Github to take down repositories containing slurs of any kind, while leaving up things like https://github.com/nvbn/thefuck/

[Asbostos]

That doesn't explain why they were seemingly allowed to replace "retards" with "gits" which is obviously still being used with the same derogatory meaning.

[waterlesscloud]

It took me about 1 minute find other repositories using derogatory descriptions of people. I didn't even have to use my imagination.