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You said “software costs $0” without caveats. Not “some software”. You are now trying to pretend you didn’t take such a hard stance. It’s ok and good to admit

You said “software costs $0” without caveats. Not “some software”. You are now trying to pretend you didn’t take such a hard stance. It’s ok and good to admit when you say something wrong. I really respect when people do that. P.S. I’ve been trying to get into less silly arguments like this on the internet… alas I couldn’t help myself here.

WalterBright 5y ago
Consider "people like ice cream". True or false? It's true even if you reply that your friend Fred doesn't like ice cream. That's why the word "all" exists. If I meant 100% of people like ice cream, I would have said "100%" or "all" people like ice cream. This is basic English semantics. > silly arguments It becomes a silly argument when one party decides to treat English with an overly literal interpretation as a rhetorical tactic.
- dwaltrip 5y ago
  Hmmm... I think there is an implicit "most" in these sentences. Most people like ice cream, so I agree it is pedantic to argue that "people like ice cream" is false. When writing my comment, I guess I had an assumption that most software costs more than $0. After thinking about more, I'm not sure that is true. It think it is probably the case that most software is free to use. Interesting to think about. However, there is a wrinkle in your analogy, which I think may be a driver of some of the intense debate in this comment thread. It's rare for someone to "hate" ice cream -- I actually can't think of anyone I know who does. But it's very common to find software that costs A LOT more than $0. So, in a sense, "software costs $0" is much less true than "people like ice cream". As of right now, I think I'm still on the side of it being more false than true. But I'll admit it is more nuanced than I thought. Regardless, I recant the harshness from my previous comment. Thanks for thoughtfully explaining yourself. I do agree with another sibling commenter that you could have been clearer in your original statement :)

WalterBright 5y ago

Consider "people like ice cream". True or false? It's true even if you reply that your friend Fred doesn't like ice cream. That's why the word "all" exists. If I meant 100% of people like ice cream, I would have said "100%" or "all" people like ice cream. This is basic English semantics. > silly arguments It becomes a silly argument when one party decides to treat English with an overly literal interpretation as a rhetorical tactic.

dwaltrip 5y ago
Hmmm... I think there is an implicit "most" in these sentences. Most people like ice cream, so I agree it is pedantic to argue that "people like ice cream" is false. When writing my comment, I guess I had an assumption that most software costs more than $0. After thinking about more, I'm not sure that is true. It think it is probably the case that most software is free to use. Interesting to think about. However, there is a wrinkle in your analogy, which I think may be a driver of some of the intense debate in this comment thread. It's rare for someone to "hate" ice cream -- I actually can't think of anyone I know who does. But it's very common to find software that costs A LOT more than $0. So, in a sense, "software costs $0" is much less true than "people like ice cream". As of right now, I think I'm still on the side of it being more false than true. But I'll admit it is more nuanced than I thought. Regardless, I recant the harshness from my previous comment. Thanks for thoughtfully explaining yourself. I do agree with another sibling commenter that you could have been clearer in your original statement :)