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If they have license to misrepresent and abuse a term, users of that term absolutely have license to correct them. Being ignorant does not somehow put you above
by tensor 2y ago
If they have license to misrepresent and abuse a term, users of that term absolutely have license to correct them. Being ignorant does not somehow put you above criticism or correction.
- maxbond 2y agoI'm not saying there's no license to correct them, but that the substance of a disagreement is unlikely to be about definitions (and wasn't in this case). I think arguing about what terms mean is largely a distraction. All words are made up, the right definition is the one that serves the discussion you're having at any given moment. Letting your interlocutor pick their own terms is a free way to extend charity and aid mutual understanding. If you're talking to someone, that means meeting in the middle because it goes both ways. If you're reading or discussing a document and the author isn't around, that means adopting the author's terminology, because there isn't really an alternative.