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When the entire world starts using a word ("hack") in a way that you think is wrong, at some point it is you that becomes wrong. Language works that way.
by jgfoot 18y ago
When the entire world starts using a word ("hack") in a way that you think is wrong, at some point it is you that becomes wrong. Language works that way.
- PieSquared 18y agoYet even though 'cool' means having a low temperature nearly everywhere, in some places it also means 'awesome' or 'snazzy'.
- dkasper 18y agoThe term "cracker" is doomed to never catch on. However, I don't think it's out of reach to change the meaning of hack in the public's mind. A few viral videos or some mainstream media/pop celebrity attention could quickly change the meaning of any word.
- minus1 18y agoLanguage may work that way, but RMS is not likely to concede the point. Thus his continuing battle over "GNU/Linux". He's a principled man, perhaps to a fault.
- sounddust 18y agoOf course, instead of wasting 20 years trying to get the media to use "hacking" the way he wanted to, he could have instead invented a new word that meant "finding creative solutions to problems," which likely would have been picked up by the media by now. But he's stubborn like that.