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Thanks for putting this all so eloquently. I'd even go so far as to say, the fact that so much of us are talking about this rhetorical device (one I think is p

by Frondo 10y ago

Thanks for putting this all so eloquently. I'd even go so far as to say, the fact that so much of us are talking about this rhetorical device (one I think is pretty childish and distracting) means he's missed the mark in writing a persuasive essay. A lot of us aren't talking about the merits of using Facebook vs not, because we're talking about that dumb neologism instead. Shakespeare, he is not. Which is too bad, because a lot of his points are worth discussing--not necessarily agreeing with, but at least discussing. Like, what value are people getting in return from Facebook? Why are people OK giving away their content, exposing their eyeballs to ads, being tracked, etc.? Is it that they don't know? That they know but don't care, i.e. have different priorities in life? What alternatives could there be to this service that so many people (even in the comments here) find value in using? Facebook is bad, rah rah, but people want to connect and it's there and it works. What would you ask people to do when we all shut down our facebook accounts? All these questions are being lost because of "useds". That's too bad.

avindroth 10y ago
Seeing the discussion about this neologism as the first comment on the thread was disappointing. There were many important issues raised in the article. In a way, Stallman uses the word "used" because he is writing for a certain audience. For one, he is writing for himself, but also the vast majority of his audience are hackers. And these hackers are curious enough to read the strange language choice and think about what that might mean. One might be led to ask how impure and tilted the language around our relationship with these products is. If he really wanted to make an approachable article, this should be titled, "21 reasons why you should stop using Facebook". But Stallman isn't trying to please everyone, he is trying to please his audience (including himself).
- stephenr 10y ago
  > but also the vast majority of his audience are hackers. And these hackers are curious enough to read the strange language choice and think about what that might mean. The focus of this very comment thread is proof that isn’t the case. Plenty of us agree with the basic premise, but take issue at his entire approach to communicating with people, and thus don’t consider the article “good”. > If he really wanted to make an approachable article, this should be titled Or he could just write it like he’s expecting adults to read it, and drop the condescending and childish names he makes up for everything he disagrees with.

by Frondo 10y ago

avindroth 10y ago

Seeing the discussion about this neologism as the first comment on the thread was disappointing. There were many important issues raised in the article. In a way, Stallman uses the word "used" because he is writing for a certain audience. For one, he is writing for himself, but also the vast majority of his audience are hackers. And these hackers are curious enough to read the strange language choice and think about what that might mean. One might be led to ask how impure and tilted the language around our relationship with these products is. If he really wanted to make an approachable article, this should be titled, "21 reasons why you should stop using Facebook". But Stallman isn't trying to please everyone, he is trying to please his audience (including himself).

stephenr 10y ago
> but also the vast majority of his audience are hackers. And these hackers are curious enough to read the strange language choice and think about what that might mean. The focus of this very comment thread is proof that isn’t the case. Plenty of us agree with the basic premise, but take issue at his entire approach to communicating with people, and thus don’t consider the article “good”. > If he really wanted to make an approachable article, this should be titled Or he could just write it like he’s expecting adults to read it, and drop the condescending and childish names he makes up for everything he disagrees with.