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It's not dickish nitpicking, it's expressing genuine concerns. Language is meant to be used properly. "Basic knowledge of programming" doesn't actually mean an

• sehr 13y ago
  Of course language is meant to be used properly. But judging by the bastardization of other technical phrases, (e.g. hacker) and their criticism, these discussions will amount to nothing. And in taking part in these discussions, we're really only shouting into an echo chamber. I seriously doubt many non technical people browse hacker news.
• lemonberry 13y ago
  How does "basic knowledge of programming" not mean anything? Almost every book on programming starts with "basics" section.
• StefanKarpinski 13y ago
  There is no such thing as "proper usage of language". Language means what we all agree that it means which is a consensus that evolves over time. Unlike programming languages, it has no fixed or proper meaning or usage. I think that most of us can agree that while it may not be precise, "basic knowledge of programming" does actually mean something. It is distinct from, say, basic knowledge of French or basic knowledge of juggling – hence, it means something. And from the number of upvotes my original post is getting, it seems that at least a few people agree that some of the commentary in this discussion is, in fact, dickish nitpicking.