On 15 March 2013 23:03, Patrick O'Callaghan <pocallaghan@xxxxxxxxx> wrote: > On Fri, 2013-03-15 at 18:47 -0400, Doug wrote: >> On 03/15/2013 06:25 PM, Frank Murphy wrote: >> > On Fri, 15 Mar 2013 15:21:07 -0700 >> > Richard Vickery <richard.vickeryrv@xxxxxxxxx> wrote: >> > >> >> Does this mean that you just let them adulterate the term? >> > You would have to re-write current popular culture. >> > Language and it's use change, by it's very usage. >> > >> Language is fickle. Gay used to mean happy-go-lucky; >> nuke used to mean to drop an atom bomb on; transistor >> still is a three-wire device made (usually) of silicon, used >> for amplifiers and switches, but in common usage it means >> a radio; nice was once pejorative. And we used to have >> "gotten" and, a little earlier, "shaven" but our verbs are >> regularizing themselves whether we like it or not. >> So whether you like it or not, hack usually connotes >> unlawful intrusion on a computer. Ce la vie! > > I think you mean "C'est la vie", ... > > Anyway, I still refer to talented programmers as hackers in a > non-perjorative sense because there isn't a good one-word alternative. > Geeks doesn't cut it because there are lots of geeks who don't program. > Yes, basically words can change use, but you get very circular if you start to say you think the meaning is changing so you must change to follow the dictionary definition. And words can have more than one meaning. Actually, the first example above. Gay used to mean happy and joyful, then meant homosexual, and for a long time was used as a playground insult, but the community it applies to have (in places at least) reclaimed it as something positive. The press generally get lots of detail wrong, so it doesn't really make sense to try and conform to their usage. -- imalone http://ibmalone.blogspot.co.uk -- users mailing list users@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx To unsubscribe or change subscription options: https://admin.fedoraproject.org/mailman/listinfo/users Guidelines: http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Mailing_list_guidelines Have a question? Ask away: http://ask.fedoraproject.org
