4 ms·
It's a horrible name. It obviously implies that something is being made shitty, but it fails to say what or how. "Enshittification" could just as easily mean
by Jiro 3y ago
It's a horrible name. It obviously implies that something is being made shitty, but it fails to say what or how. "Enshittification" could just as easily mean "the process by which your computer fan gets clogged with dust" or "the process by which rice loses vitamins when you cook it too much". It's like calling it "bad stuff" except with more profanity.
- Daishiman 3y agoAs a web user of 26 years, it describes precisely what happens.
- izzydata 3y agoHow would a word itself contain its own definition of what or how? If you take the word "corruption" which is similar you can see that is implies something is being made more corrupt, but it fails to say what or how. I can't see how enshittification is any different. Enshittify, like corrupt needs to have a definition at some point.
- chromoblob 3y agoThose two definitions could work only in a special context and wouldn't be adopted as a widely known word. Cory's definition, though, can work so, because it is a coined term for an important sociological phenomenon. About including the essence of meaning into the word, I would propose 'entrapment'. But "enshittification" seems to be a special choice for conveying derogation and evoking attention to the discussion - so called dysphemistic and emphatic swearing (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Profanity#Types https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Profanity#Types), and this goal might be more important for the author than that of making the word's meaning obvious from word itself. If 'enshittification' catches on, it will be able to be considered as worthy of attention anyway, and one won't need to use word's lexical clarity to judge its importance.