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diff --git a/talermerchantdemos/blog/articles/en/words-to-avoid.html b/talermerchantdemos/blog/articles/en/words-to-avoid.html index d33584a..9aa3079 100644 --- a/talermerchantdemos/blog/articles/en/words-to-avoid.html +++ b/talermerchantdemos/blog/articles/en/words-to-avoid.html @@ -1,10 +1,22 @@ <!--#include virtual="/server/header.html" --> -<!-- Parent-Version: 1.90 --> +<!-- Parent-Version: 1.96 --> +<!-- This page is derived from /server/standards/boilerplate.html --> +<!--#set var="TAGS" value="essays term" --> +<!--#set var="DISABLE_TOP_ADDENDUM" value="yes" --> <title>Words to Avoid (or Use with Care) Because They Are Loaded or Confusing - GNU Project - Free Software Foundation</title> +<style type="text/css" media="print,screen"><!-- +#word-list a { line-height: 1.8em; text-decoration: none; } +--> +</style> <!--#include virtual="/philosophy/po/words-to-avoid.translist" --> <!--#include virtual="/server/banner.html" --> +<!--#include virtual="/philosophy/ph-breadcrumb.html" --> +<!--GNUN: OUT-OF-DATE NOTICE--> +<!--#include virtual="/server/top-addendum.html" --> +<div class="article reduced-width"> <h2>Words to Avoid (or Use with Care) Because They Are Loaded or Confusing</h2> +<div class="thin"></div> <p> There are a number of words and phrases that we recommend avoiding, or @@ -12,13 +24,7 @@ avoiding in certain contexts and usages. Some are ambiguous or misleading; others presuppose a viewpoint that we disagree with, and we hope you disagree with it too.</p> -<div class="announcement"> -<blockquote><p>Also note <a href="/philosophy/categories.html">Categories of Free -Software</a>, -<a href="/philosophy/why-call-it-the-swindle.html">Why Call It The -Swindle?</a></p></blockquote> -</div> - +<div id="word-list" class="emph-box"> <p><span class="gnun-split"></span><!-- GNUN-SORT-START --> “<a href="#Ad-blocker">Ad-blocker</a>” |<span class="gnun-split"></span><!-- GNUN-SORT-NEXT-ITEM --> “<a @@ -66,6 +72,10 @@ Swindle?</a></p></blockquote> |<span class="gnun-split"></span><!-- GNUN-SORT-NEXT-ITEM --> “<a href="#FreelyAvailable">Freely available</a>” |<span class="gnun-split"></span><!-- GNUN-SORT-NEXT-ITEM --> “<a + href="#Freemium">Freemium</a>” +|<span class="gnun-split"></span><!-- GNUN-SORT-NEXT-ITEM --> “<a + href="#FreeToPlay">Free-to-play</a>” +|<span class="gnun-split"></span><!-- GNUN-SORT-NEXT-ITEM --> “<a href="#Freeware">Freeware</a>” |<span class="gnun-split"></span><!-- GNUN-SORT-NEXT-ITEM --> “<a href="#GiveAwaySoftware">Give away software</a>” @@ -136,6 +146,16 @@ Swindle?</a></p></blockquote> |<span class="gnun-split"></span><!-- GNUN-SORT-NEXT-ITEM --> “<a href="#Vendor">Vendor</a>” <span class="gnun-split"></span><!-- GNUN-SORT-STOP --></p> +</div> + +<hr class="no-display" /> +<div class="announcement"> +<p>Also note <a href="/philosophy/categories.html">Categories of Free +Software</a>, +<a href="/philosophy/why-call-it-the-swindle.html">Why Call It The +Swindle?</a></p> +</div> +<hr class="no-display" /> <!-- GNUN-SORT-START --> <!-- GNUN-SORT-BEGIN-KEY --> @@ -224,9 +244,9 @@ job as an alternative. <h3 id="Assets">“Assets”</h3> <!-- GNUN-SORT-END-KEY --> <p> -To refer to published works as “assets”, or “digital -assets”, is even worse than calling -them <a href="#Content">“content”</a> — it presumes +To refer to published works as “assets,” or “digital +assets,” is even worse than calling +them <a href="#Content">“content”</a>—it presumes they have no value to society except commercial value.</p> <!-- GNUN-SORT-NEXT-ITEM --> @@ -266,7 +286,7 @@ with them. For instance, we avoid describing nonfree software as <!-- GNUN-SORT-END-KEY --> <p id="Cloud"> The term “cloud computing” (or -just “cloud”, in the context of +just “cloud,” in the context of computing) is a marketing buzzword with no coherent meaning. It is used for a range of different activities whose only common characteristic is that they use the Internet for something beyond @@ -287,7 +307,7 @@ about it becomes possible. One of the many meanings of “cloud computing” is storing your data in online services. In most scenarios, that is foolish because it exposes you to -<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/apr/25/hackers-spooks-cloud-antiauthoritarian-dream">surveillance</a>. +<a href="https://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/apr/25/hackers-spooks-cloud-antiauthoritarian-dream">surveillance</a>. </p> <p> @@ -309,10 +329,10 @@ That raises no particular ethical issues. <p> The <a href="https://csrc.nist.gov/publications/detail/sp/800-145/final"> -NIST definition of "cloud computing"</a> mentions three scenarios that +NIST definition of “cloud computing”</a> mentions three scenarios that raise different ethical issues: Software as a Service, Platform as a Service, and Infrastructure as a Service. However, that definition -does not match the common use of “cloud computing”, since +does not match the common use of “cloud computing,” since it does not include storing data in online services. Software as a Service as defined by NIST overlaps considerably with Service as a Software Substitute, which mistreats the user, but the two concepts @@ -329,7 +349,7 @@ it by a specific term. <p> Curiously, Larry Ellison, a proprietary software developer, -also <a href="http://www.cnet.com/news/oracles-ellison-nails-cloud-computing/"> +also <a href="https://www.cnet.com/culture/oracles-ellison-nails-cloud-computing/"> noted the vacuity of the term “cloud computing.”</a> He decided to use the term anyway because, as a proprietary software developer, he isn't motivated by the same ideals as we are. @@ -414,17 +434,19 @@ last week.</p> <p>What does it mean to think of works of authorship as a commodity, with the assumption that there is nothing special about any one story, article, program, or song? That is the twisted viewpoint of the owner -or the accountant of a publishing company. It is no surprise that -proprietary software would like you to think of the use of software as -a commodity. Their twisted viewpoint comes through clearly -in <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/former-google-exec-launches-sourcepoint-with-10-million-series-a-funding-2015-6">this +or the accountant of a publishing company, someone who doesn't appreciate +the published works as such. +It is no surprise that proprietary software developers would like +you to think of the use of software as a commodity. Their twisted +viewpoint comes through clearly +in <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/former-google-exec-launches-sourcepoint-with-10-million-series-a-funding-2015-6">this article</a>, which also refers to publications as “<a href="#Content">content</a>.”</p> <p> The narrow thinking associated with the idea that we “consume content” paves the way for laws such as the DMCA that forbid -users to break the <a href="http://DefectiveByDesign.org/">Digital +users to break the <a href="https://DefectiveByDesign.org/">Digital Restrictions Management</a> (DRM) facilities in digital devices. If users think what they do with these devices is “consume,” they may see such restrictions as natural.</p> @@ -491,7 +513,7 @@ suggest terms such as “individuals” and “citizens,” rather than “consumers.”</p> <p> This problem with the word “consumer” has -been <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/aug/11/capitalism-language-raymond-williams">noted before</a>. +been <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/aug/11/capitalism-language-raymond-williams">noted before</a>. </p> <!-- GNUN-SORT-NEXT-ITEM --> @@ -512,8 +534,12 @@ Those who use the term “content” are often the publishers that push for increased copyright power in the name of the authors (“creators,” as they say) of the works. The term “content” reveals their real attitude towards these works -and their authors. This was also recognized by Tom Chatfield -<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2016/aug/02/how-to-deal-with-trump-trolls-online">in the Guardian</a>:</p> +and their authors.</p> + +<p>We first condemned this usage of “content” in 2002. +Since then, Tom Chatfield recognized the same point <a +href="https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2016/aug/02/how-to-deal-with-trump-trolls-online"> +in <cite>The Guardian</cite></a>:</p> <blockquote><p> Content itself is beside the point—as the very use of words like @@ -525,11 +551,41 @@ mill. <p> In other words, “content” reduces publications and -writings to a sort of pap fit to be piped through the +writings to a sort of pap fit to be metered and piped through the “tubes” of the internet. </p> -<p>See also <a href="https://www.salon.com/2000/06/14/love_7/">Courtney +<p>Later, <a +href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2022/aug/03/tax-concerns-axed-batgirl-but-studios-will-suffer-if-they-become-too-cynical"> +Peter Bradshaw noticed it too.</a></p> + +<blockquote><p> +This is what happens when studios treat movies as pure, +undifferentiated corporate “content,” a Gazprom pipeline of superhero +mush which can be turned off when the accountants say that it makes +sense to do so. +</p></blockquote> + +<p> +<a href="https://tedgioia.substack.com/p/14-warning-signs-that-you-are-living"> +Martin Scorsese condemned the attitude of “content” in +regard to films</a>.</p> + +<p> +The attitude implied by “content” is illustrated pointedly +in this critical description of +<a href="https://anildash.com/2022/02/09/the-stupid-tech-content-culture-cycle/"> +the development path of platforms run by +people who base their thinking on that concept</a>.</p> + +<p> +The article uses this word over and over, along with +“consume” and “creators.” Perhaps that is +meant to illustrate the way those people like to think. +</p> + +<p>See +also <a href="https://www.salon.com/2000/06/14/love_7/">Courtney Love's open letter to Steve Case</a> and search for “content provider” in that page. Alas, Ms. Love is unaware that the term “intellectual property” is @@ -557,7 +613,7 @@ system” (WRS).</p> <!-- GNUN-SORT-END-KEY --> <p> Copyright is an artificial privilege, handed out by the state to -achieve a public interest and lasting a period of time — not a +achieve a public interest and lasting a period of time—not a natural right like owning a house or a shirt. Lawyers used to recognize this by referring to the recipient of that privilege as a “copyright holder.”</p> @@ -633,7 +689,7 @@ Locks are not necessarily oppressive or bad. You probably own several locks, and their keys or codes as well; you may find them useful or troublesome, but they don't oppress you, because you can open and close them. Likewise, we -find <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/may/01/encryption-wont-work-if-it-has-a-back-door-only-the-good-guys-have-keys-to-">encryption</a> +find <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/may/01/encryption-wont-work-if-it-has-a-back-door-only-the-good-guys-have-keys-to-">encryption</a> invaluable for protecting our digital files. That too is a kind of digital lock that you have control over.</p> <p> @@ -665,7 +721,7 @@ whom these restrictions are imposed.</p> Good alternatives include “Digital Restrictions Management,” and “digital handcuffs.”</p> <p> -Please sign up to support our <a href="http://DefectiveByDesign.org/"> +Please sign up to support our <a href="https://DefectiveByDesign.org/"> campaign to abolish DRM</a>.</p> <!-- GNUN-SORT-NEXT-ITEM --> @@ -758,6 +814,35 @@ a copy of it. These are answers to different questions. <!-- GNUN-SORT-NEXT-ITEM --> <!-- GNUN-SORT-BEGIN-KEY --> +<h3 id="Freemium">“Freemium”</h3> +<!-- GNUN-SORT-END-KEY --> +<p> +The confusing term “freemium” is used in marketing to +describe <em>nonfree</em> software whose standard version is gratis, +with paid <em>nonfree</em> add-ons available.</p> +<p> +Using this term works against the free software movement, because it +leads people to think of “free” as meaning “zero +price.”</p> + +<!-- GNUN-SORT-NEXT-ITEM --> +<!-- GNUN-SORT-BEGIN-KEY --> +<h3 id="FreeToPlay">“Free-to-play”</h3> +<!-- GNUN-SORT-END-KEY --> +<p> +The confusing term “free-to-play” (acronym +“F2P”) is used in marketing to describe <em>nonfree</em> +games which don't require a payment before a user starts to play. In +many of these games, doing well in the game requires paying later, so +the term “gratis-to-start” is a more accurate +description.</p> +<p> +Using this term works against the free software movement, because it +leads people to think of “free” as meaning +“zero price.”</p> + +<!-- GNUN-SORT-NEXT-ITEM --> +<!-- GNUN-SORT-BEGIN-KEY --> <h3 id="Freeware">“Freeware”</h3> <!-- GNUN-SORT-END-KEY --> <p> @@ -803,7 +888,7 @@ Please avoid using the term “google” as a verb, meaning to search for something on the internet. “Google” is just the name of one particular search engine among others. We suggest to use the term “search the web” or (in some contexts) just -“search”. Try to use a search engine that respects your +“search.” Try to use a search engine that respects your privacy; for instance, <a href="https://duckduckgo.com/">DuckDuckGo</a> claims not to track its users. (There is no way for outsiders to verify claims of that kind.)</p> @@ -814,7 +899,7 @@ verify claims of that kind.)</p> <!-- GNUN-SORT-END-KEY --> <p> A hacker is someone -who <a href="http://stallman.org/articles/on-hacking.html"> enjoys +who <a href="https://stallman.org/articles/on-hacking.html"> enjoys playful cleverness</a>—not necessarily with computers. The programmers in the old <abbr title="Massachusetts Institute of Technology">MIT</abbr> free @@ -871,7 +956,7 @@ sound very nice. So they came up with a cute, appealing name: the <p> Experience shows that these products often do <a -href="http://www.locusmag.com/Perspectives/2015/09/cory-doctorow-what-if-people-were-sensors-not-things-to-be-sensed/"> +href="https://www.locusmag.com/Perspectives/2015/09/cory-doctorow-what-if-people-were-sensors-not-things-to-be-sensed/"> spy on their users</a>. They are also tailor-made for <a href="https://archive.ieet.org/articles/rinesi20150806.html">giving people biased advice</a>. In addition, the manufacturer can <a @@ -935,7 +1020,7 @@ and legitimize proprietary software.</p> <!-- GNUN-SORT-END-KEY --> <p> The term “modern” makes sense from a descriptive -perspective — for instance, solely to distinguish newer periods +perspective—for instance, solely to distinguish newer periods and ways from older ones.</p> <p>It becomes a problem when it carries the presumption that older @@ -953,7 +1038,7 @@ something as currency.” For instance, human societies have monetized gold, silver, copper, printed paper, special kinds of seashells, and large rocks. However, we now see a tendency to use the word in another way, meaning “to use something as a basis for -profit”.</p> +profit.”</p> <p> That usage casts the profit as primary, and the thing used to get the profit as secondary. That attitude applied to a software project is @@ -1045,7 +1130,7 @@ Please avoid using the term “photoshop” as a verb, meaning any kind of photo manipulation or image editing in general. Photoshop is just the name of one particular image editing program, which should be avoided since it is proprietary. There are plenty of free programs -for editing images, such as the <a href="/software/gimp">GIMP</a>.</p> +for editing images, such as the <a href="https://www.gimp.org/">GIMP</a>.</p> <!-- GNUN-SORT-NEXT-ITEM --> <!-- GNUN-SORT-BEGIN-KEY --> @@ -1072,8 +1157,8 @@ such as “sharing information with your neighbor.”</p> <p> A US judge, presiding over a trial for copyright infringement, recognized that -<a href="http://torrentfreak.com/mpaa-banned-from-using-piracy-and-theft-terms-in-hotfile-trial-131129/">“piracy” -and “theft” are smear words.</a></p> +<a href="https://torrentfreak.com/mpaa-banned-from-using-piracy-and-theft-terms-in-hotfile-trial-131129/">“piracy” +and “theft” are smear words</a>.</p> <!-- GNUN-SORT-NEXT-ITEM --> <!-- GNUN-SORT-BEGIN-KEY --> @@ -1133,7 +1218,7 @@ that interferes with copying. From the user's point of view, this is obstruction. So we could call that malicious feature “copy obstruction.” More often it is called Digital Restrictions Management (DRM)—see the -<a href="http://DefectiveByDesign.org"> Defective by Design</a> +<a href="https://DefectiveByDesign.org"> Defective by Design</a> campaign.</p> <!-- GNUN-SORT-NEXT-ITEM --> @@ -1218,6 +1303,8 @@ to noncommercial cooperation, including noncommercial redistribution of exact copies of published works, and we say this is <em>good</em>. Please don't apply that word to a practice which is harmful and dangerous.</p> +<p>When one company redistributes collected personal data to another company, +that is even less deserving of the term “sharing.”</p> <!-- GNUN-SORT-NEXT-ITEM --> <!-- GNUN-SORT-BEGIN-KEY --> <h3 id="SharingEconomy">“Sharing economy”</h3> @@ -1232,7 +1319,7 @@ exact copies of published works. Stretching the word meaning, so we don't use it in this context.</p> <p> A more suitable term for businesses like Uber is the -“piecework service economy.”</p> +“piecework service economy” or “gig economy.”</p> <!-- GNUN-SORT-NEXT-ITEM --> <!-- GNUN-SORT-BEGIN-KEY --> @@ -1280,9 +1367,9 @@ Wikipedia uses the term “source model” in a confused and ambiguous way. Ostensibly it refers to how a program's source is distributed, but the text confuses this with the development methodology. It distinguishes “open source” and -”shared source” as answers, but they overlap — -Microsoft uses the latter as a marketing term to cover a range of -practices, some of which are “open source”. Thus, this +”shared source” as answers, but they overlap—Microsoft +uses the latter as a marketing term to cover a range of +practices, some of which are “open source.” Thus, this term really conveys no coherent information, but it provides an opportunity to say “open source” in pages describing free software programs.</p> @@ -1315,13 +1402,13 @@ it for objective truth.</p> <p> Under the US legal system, copyright infringement is not theft. <a -href="http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=us&vol=473&invol=207"> -Laws about theft are not applicable to copyright infringement.</a> +href="https://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-supreme-court/473/207.html"> +Laws about theft are not applicable to copyright infringement</a>. The supporters of repressive copyright are making an appeal to authority—and misrepresenting what authority says.</p> <p> To refute them, you can point to this -<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/may/04/harper-lee-kill-mockingbird-copyright"> +<a href="https://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/may/04/harper-lee-kill-mockingbird-copyright"> real case</a> which shows what can properly be described as “copyright theft.”</p> <p> @@ -1335,8 +1422,8 @@ change.</p> <p> A US judge, presiding over a trial for copyright infringement, recognized that -<a href="http://torrentfreak.com/mpaa-banned-from-using-piracy-and-theft-terms-in-hotfile-trial-131129/">“piracy” -and “theft” are smear-words.</a></p> +<a href="https://torrentfreak.com/mpaa-banned-from-using-piracy-and-theft-terms-in-hotfile-trial-131129/">“piracy” +and “theft” are smear-words</a>.</p> <!-- GNUN-SORT-NEXT-ITEM --> <!-- GNUN-SORT-BEGIN-KEY --> @@ -1366,15 +1453,16 @@ vendors. We recommend the general term “supplier” instead. </p> <!-- GNUN-SORT-STOP --> -<hr /> -<blockquote id="fsfs"><p>This essay is published -in <a href="http://shop.fsf.org/product/free-software-free-society/"><cite>Free +<hr class="no-display" /> +<div class="edu-note c"><p id="fsfs">This essay is published in +<a href="https://shop.fsf.org/product/free-software-free-society/"><cite>Free Software, Free Society: The Selected Essays of Richard -M. Stallman</cite></a>.</p></blockquote> +M. Stallman</cite></a>.</p></div> +</div> </div><!-- for id="content", starts in the include above --> <!--#include virtual="/server/footer.html" --> -<div id="footer"> +<div id="footer" role="contentinfo"> <div class="unprintable"> <p>Please send general FSF & GNU inquiries to @@ -1392,13 +1480,13 @@ to <a href="mailto:webmasters@gnu.org"><webmasters@gnu.org></a>.</p> to <a href="mailto:web-translators@gnu.org"> <web-translators@gnu.org></a>.</p> - <p>For information on coordinating and submitting translations of + <p>For information on coordinating and contributing translations of our web pages, see <a href="/server/standards/README.translations.html">Translations README</a>. --> Please see the <a href="/server/standards/README.translations.html">Translations -README</a> for information on coordinating and submitting translations +README</a> for information on coordinating and contributing translations of this article.</p> </div> @@ -1419,8 +1507,7 @@ of this article.</p> There is more detail about copyright years in the GNU Maintainers Information document, www.gnu.org/prep/maintain. --> -<p>Copyright © 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2007, -2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021 Free Software Foundation, Inc.</p> +<p>Copyright © 1996-2018, 2020, 2021, 2022 Free Software Foundation, Inc.</p> <p>This page is licensed under a <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">Creative @@ -1430,7 +1517,7 @@ Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License</a>.</p> <p class="unprintable">Updated: <!-- timestamp start --> -$Date: 2021/04/26 07:14:33 $ +$Date: 2022/09/02 23:08:04 $ <!-- timestamp end --> </p> </div> |