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There are instances where people use wordplay to gain an emotional/rhetorical advantage in a debate. For the seasoned, this might be irksome at best, but I agre

There are instances where people use wordplay to gain an emotional/rhetorical advantage in a debate. For the seasoned, this might be irksome at best, but I agree, repeatedly hearing "Dumbocrat" can get old and I, for one, will quickly lose respect for that person. But comparing Stallman's use of the word "used" to conventional, quite childish wordplay seems like a very, very far stretch. Stallman is redefining those people we know as "Facebook users", because in this case, "user" is not a correct term. A user is someone who uses a product to gain utility. By using a product, you gain something from the experience. A used is someone who is on the opposite end, where you are on the losing end of the deal. In a relationship between Facebook the corporation and the Facebook "user", who is gaining more utility, and who is on the losing end? Stallman argues that Facebook "users" are on the losing end. Thus they are appropriately termed "useds", with evidence backing his redefinition.

pyre 10y ago
A junkie is a drug user, but they are being used by the criminal infrastructure providing those illicit substances. To say that they are not a user because they are being used via their usage is just nitpicking. Facebook users are using Facebook and gaining utility through it, regardless of what they are giving up (whether they realize it or not) to do so.
- avindroth 10y ago
  The distinction might be petty, but for even a junkie, used might be a more accurate descriptor than user. As a non-junkie and non-member of the criminal infrastructure, one might see "drug users" feel used more than empowered through their gain of utility. Same is true for facebook "users" as well. If you see "user" as someone who uses a product, then this discourse is pointless. But if you think of a "user" as someone empowered by products, then using the term "Facebook users" should make you feel uncomfortable.

pyre 10y ago

A junkie is a drug user, but they are being used by the criminal infrastructure providing those illicit substances. To say that they are not a user because they are being used via their usage is just nitpicking. Facebook users are using Facebook and gaining utility through it, regardless of what they are giving up (whether they realize it or not) to do so.

avindroth 10y ago
The distinction might be petty, but for even a junkie, used might be a more accurate descriptor than user. As a non-junkie and non-member of the criminal infrastructure, one might see "drug users" feel used more than empowered through their gain of utility. Same is true for facebook "users" as well. If you see "user" as someone who uses a product, then this discourse is pointless. But if you think of a "user" as someone empowered by products, then using the term "Facebook users" should make you feel uncomfortable.