3 ms·

My favorite: Actionable It used to mean: "affording grounds for legal action" -- that is you can be sued for it. Now, marketing folks (and politicians) use it

by jorgem 17y ago

My favorite: Actionable It used to mean: "affording grounds for legal action" -- that is you can be sued for it. Now, marketing folks (and politicians) use it to mean "something they can do".

Semiapies 17y ago
If they say something's actionable, ask if you can sue them. ;)
akamaka 17y ago
Andy Grove's biography tells the story how he had Bill Gates over for dinner to discuss the relationship between Intel and Microsoft. Upon hearing one if Andy's proposals, an excitable Gates said that it would "be actionable" (meaning the company could act on it). Andy misunderstood, and stood up from the table and angrily pointed at Bill and shouted "are you threatening to sue me?!". The meeting went badly from that point, and presaged a bad relationship between the companies for years to come.
jfarmer 17y ago
To me actionable means "something I can act upon," not necessarily something I can do, e.g., a specific piece of information that makes the next decision obvious. If I meant "something I can do" I'd say "possible."
- jorgem 17y ago
  That's just my point. It doesn't mean that.
  - bkudria 17y ago
    Yes it does.
  - jfarmer 17y ago
    If it means that to me and everyone else who uses the word in the same way, how can it not "mean that?" Because that's not what's in the dictionary? Because that's not what someone who lived 100, 50, 25 years ago would have meant when they said it? I don't buy it. Language is defined by its usage, not the other way around. If I say "actionable" and everyone understands what I mean by it -- yourself included, if only begrudgingly -- then what does it mean if not the thing which everyone understands?
    - jorgem 17y ago
      Maybe you misunderstood the words in my answer because they didn't mean what you think you read... You are free to redefine the meaning of any word you want. But that's what the article was about -- misusing words.

by jorgem 17y ago

My favorite: Actionable It used to mean: "affording grounds for legal action" -- that is you can be sued for it. Now, marketing folks (and politicians) use it to mean "something they can do".

Semiapies 17y ago

If they say something's actionable, ask if you can sue them. ;)

akamaka 17y ago

Andy Grove's biography tells the story how he had Bill Gates over for dinner to discuss the relationship between Intel and Microsoft. Upon hearing one if Andy's proposals, an excitable Gates said that it would "be actionable" (meaning the company could act on it). Andy misunderstood, and stood up from the table and angrily pointed at Bill and shouted "are you threatening to sue me?!". The meeting went badly from that point, and presaged a bad relationship between the companies for years to come.

jfarmer 17y ago

To me actionable means "something I can act upon," not necessarily something I can do, e.g., a specific piece of information that makes the next decision obvious. If I meant "something I can do" I'd say "possible."

jorgem 17y ago
That's just my point. It doesn't mean that.
- bkudria 17y ago
  Yes it does.
- jfarmer 17y ago
  If it means that to me and everyone else who uses the word in the same way, how can it not "mean that?" Because that's not what's in the dictionary? Because that's not what someone who lived 100, 50, 25 years ago would have meant when they said it? I don't buy it. Language is defined by its usage, not the other way around. If I say "actionable" and everyone understands what I mean by it -- yourself included, if only begrudgingly -- then what does it mean if not the thing which everyone understands?
  - jorgem 17y ago
    Maybe you misunderstood the words in my answer because they didn't mean what you think you read... You are free to redefine the meaning of any word you want. But that's what the article was about -- misusing words.