4 ms·
When people revert to name-calling it really rubs me the wrong way, and makes me less likely to take their objections seriously. Like when people write "Micro$o
by doodpants 12y ago
When people revert to name-calling it really rubs me the wrong way, and makes me less likely to take their objections seriously. Like when people write "Micro$oft", "Microshaft", "CrApple", etc. If you have rational objections to something, you don't need to resort to such childish tactics.
...Frankly, I'd prefer more rationality from Richard Trollman.
;-)
- angersock 12y agoOh, I absolutely agree about picking childish names! It's not particularly effective, and it does tend to lose your audience. Made-up names can be done with a wink-and-a-nod when punching up for great effect ("We had particular issues integrating with a vendor who we won't name but are a bit fruity--we'll call them Orange for the sake of comparison"), but usually it's done by people who aren't particularly bright. At the same time, there is kind of an open question as to how much power a name has. If we only ever use the proper trademarks for these folks, are we not always granting them a certain amount of legitimacy and respect?
- basseq 12y agoI think legitimacy and respect go along with making a strong argument. If you resort to name-calling, the rest of your argument must not be strong enough—that's the perception, anyway. Amazon and Kindle are legitimate whether Stallman likes them or not. And I don't think—given the tone of the rest of the article—that anyone would confuse using the proper name of the product in question as respect.