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Re:Sounds condescending to modern ears by rohan972 · 2008-10-04 12:57 · Score: 1 · on Sound Bites of the 1908 Presidential Candidates

pro-life is a lie, they're pro fetus rights over human rights and anti-choice.

Your assertion requires the presupposition that a unborn child is not a human. This is neither biologically correct nor historically supported. The term "with child" has long been used to describe pregnancy, it is not lying to call a fetus a child even if some people disagree.

Those are facts.

No, that's propaganda. If you redefine terms to suit your political agenda, it doesn't make your opposition liars. Whether a fetus is going to have human rights is a legal issue, but it is entirely within the normal use of the language to refer to a human fetus as a child or baby.

Nobody is talking about killing babies and you look like a fool when you pretend that's even relevant.

I didn't say it was relevant, I compared it to using the term anti-choice, which I am arguing against. Your reading comprehension problem is popping up again I see. Nevertheless, while I can see some reasoning behind the idea that a fetus not being given full legal protection of human rights (as even young children aren't, nobody is fighting for suffrage, free speech or the RKBA for toddlers), to claim that it isn't a baby or human has propaganda value only. It's a redefinition of terms that adds nothing to rational discourse but serves the persuasive interests of one side only.

They want to restrict people's *choices* about what goes on inside their own bodies

No, pro-lifers want neither to make pregnancy banned nor compulsory. That choice is left to the individual. One method of implementing that choice, being abortion, is the target of their campaign.

I've never seen any pro-life material that claims we should all live our lives completely under compulsion because having a choice is bad. It isn't about choice, it's about abortion.
Semantics and meaningless.

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=Semantics
semantics
-noun (used with a singular verb)
1. Linguistics.
a. the study of meaning.
b. the study of linguistic development by classifying and examining changes in meaning and form.
2. Also called significs. the branch of semiotics dealing with the relations between signs and what they denote.
3. the meaning, or an interpretation of the meaning, of a word, sign, sentence, etc.: Let's not argue about semantics.

Discussing whether a particular word is being used appropriately in a particular context is semantics. So you're claiming that in a discussion about semantics, semantics is meaningless. Good one Sherlock.

Nothing gives those loons the right to crawl up inside another person's uterus.

It is just as I suspected, you aren't interested in rational debate. Be my guest, post last. There is no need for me to reply again.

Re:There is no problem here by Gavagai80 · 2008-10-04 08:39 · Score: 2, Interesting · on Microsoft Treating "Windows-Only" As Open Source

The dictionary is a governing body on what words mean. It agrees with OSI: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/open%20source

Re:No one deserves this more than Apple by Graff · 2008-10-03 13:25 · Score: 0 · on iPhone Antitrust and Computer Fraud Claims Upheld

You should take a breath or two before you resort to ad hominems, they never help to make your point.

They are exploits because they took advantage of bugs in the iPhone in order to change the operating system. The operating system is normally locked down against customization in this manner.

Yes, you are changing the device you own. I never said I thought it was wrong to do so. All I am saying is that it is an exploitation of a bug, nothing more.

You do know that words can have several different meanings, right? Maybe you should try to pick the meaning which best matches the context of my post:
exploit - Jargon File

n. [originally cracker slang]
1. A vulnerability in software that can be used for breaking security or otherwise attacking an Internet host over the network.

Re:Very large?.... by Anonymous Coward · 2008-10-02 06:47 · Score: 0 · on The Pirate Bay — "Just a Very Large Hobby"

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/avast vs. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/vast your pun is weak

*wooooooooosh

Re:Very large?.... by Anonymous Coward · 2008-10-02 06:47 · Score: 0 · on The Pirate Bay — "Just a Very Large Hobby"

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/avast vs. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/vast your pun is weak

*wooooooooosh

Re:Very large?.... by Lostlander · 2008-10-02 06:36 · Score: 1, Insightful · on The Pirate Bay — "Just a Very Large Hobby"

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/avast
vs.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/vast
your pun is weak

Re:Very large?.... by Lostlander · 2008-10-02 06:36 · Score: 1, Insightful · on The Pirate Bay — "Just a Very Large Hobby"

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/avast
vs.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/vast
your pun is weak

Re:Why by LandDolphin · 2008-10-02 04:57 · Score: 1 · on Now Google's CAPTCHA Is Broken

You're right. However, you can "run amuck"

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/amuck

Re:Microsoft Cloud by Barsteward · 2008-10-02 03:14 · Score: 1 · on Microsoft To Release Cloud-Oriented Windows OS

I think they used the wrong word from the thesaurus. i was thinking of a cloud as Vapour therefore getting Windows Vapour(ware) but there are better definitions/synonyms of "cloud" here -> http://thesaurus.reference.com/browse/cloud

Main Entry: cloud. Part of Speech: noun Synonyms: blemish, cat's-tail, cloudiness, clipse, mare's-tail, nebula, nebulosity, nimbostratus, nimbus, obscurity, rack, scud, stigma, storm scud, tarnish, wane cloud

Main Entry: cloud; Part of Speech: adjective Synonyms: clouded, cloudy, flocculent, fuliginous, murky, nebular, nebulated, nebulose, nebulous, nimbose, nubilous, obscure, overcast, roily, turbid

Main Entry: cloud. Part of Speech: verb Synonyms: becloud, befog, befuddle, blacken, blemish, blur, confuse, cover, darken, distort, dust, film, fog, gloom, haze, hide, mist, nebula, obfuscate, obnubilate, obscure, ominous, overcast, perplex, screen, seed, shade, shadow, smog, stigma, sully, swarm, taint, tarnish, thunderhead, vapor, veil

Re:editors.. by eebra82 · 2008-10-01 15:52 · Score: 3, Interesting · on Perfecting a Tron Game

I know that editing a news site is a difficult job, but you might have wanted to start by looking up "news" in a dictionary.

I just did and it looks like this is valid.

a person, thing, or event considered as a choice subject for journalistic treatment; newsworthy material.

After all, the article on the Tron game was posted just 24 hours ago, which is standard reporting.

Having said that, Slashdot's slogan is hardly something one must follow as anally as you do. After all, we have Ask Slashdot and other pieces that don't count as news.

Re:Sig Troll by turgid · 2008-10-01 07:42 · Score: 1 · on Stallman Says Cloud Computing Is a Trap

I prefer the definition of liberalism.

Re:a bunch of questions by mshannon78660 · 2008-10-01 03:45 · Score: 1 · on C# In-Depth

To proceed or to go along one's way

Pretty sure that's not where it came from, but it actually does make some sense!

Re:Why a separate "Transsexuals" Category? by Reality+Master+101 · 2008-09-29 07:23 · Score: 1 · on Becoming a Famous Programmer

you may want to do some research into gender theory, your ideas are about 120 years out of date. Not only are sex and gender different from a biological and sociological point of view, they are also differentiated in many laws. At best your post is ignorant, at worst it is a weak attempt at a flame against trans and intersex users of this site.

Sheesh. Apparently you're one of those people who will do their best to take offense without regard to what someone actually *says*. Did I, or did I not, acknowledge a range of gender? I believe I did, which is not exactly news.

As for recognizing a difference between sex and gender, dictionary.com has a pretty good way to describe this:

First:

gender1 /dndr/
-noun
1. Grammar. [snipped]
2. sex: the feminine gender.
3. [snipped]

And the usage note:

Usage Note: Traditionally, gender has been used primarily to refer to the grammatical categories of "masculine," "feminine," and "neuter," but in recent years the word has become well established in its use to refer to sex-based categories, as in phrases such as gender gap and the politics of gender. This usage is supported by the practice of many anthropologists, who reserve sex for reference to biological categories, while using gender to refer to social or cultural categories. According to this rule, one would say The effectiveness of the medication appears to depend on the sex (not gender) of the patient, but In peasant societies, gender (not sex) roles are likely to be more clearly defined. This distinction is useful in principle, but it is by no means widely observed, and considerable variation in usage occurs at all levels.

So, again, until you can give me a clear scientific test to determine the gender of specifically the attribute we're interested in (in this case, Famous Programmers), we have to do our best and peg someone as male or female.

Re:Gun Control by Anonymous Coward · 2008-09-28 12:26 · Score: 0 · on Be Part of the 2008 Presidential Youth Debate

machine gun, yes. it is after all ARMS

rocket launcher, no. its fucking ordnance.

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=ordnance

Re:2 - The Great Flood (Where are all the Unicorns by d34thm0nk3y · 2008-09-26 12:11 · Score: 1 · on Review of Discovery Institute's Evolution Textbook

Anyway I think that the Slashdot usage of the term "Creationism" should be replaced by the phrase "Young Earth Creationism" (YEC for short)

Slashdotters, everyone else on the planet, and dictionary writers you mean...

Creationism Defined:

Some excerpts:

the doctrine that matter and all things were created, substantially as they now exist, by an omnipotent Creator, and not gradually evolved or developed.

Belief in the literal interpretation of the account of the creation of the universe and of all living things related in the Bible.

the literal belief in the account of Creation given in the Book of Genesis; "creationism denies the theory of evolution of species"

Re:Or more reasonable policies by Altima(BoB) · 2008-09-24 04:16 · Score: 2 · on Students Are Always Half Right In Pittsburgh

Exactly! I'm tired of all these dusty grammarians too ashamed of the fact that English is not a Romance language to admit that it can be free of some of the rigid systems that those languages are burdened with.

Another equally egregious offender is the insistence that a "Split Infinitive" is incorrect (IE 'To quickly run' as opposed to 'To run quickly') This is only a rule because it is actually utterly impossible to do in latin and romance languages because the infinitive is ONE WORD. In English it's two. No sense pretending it's one.

And all sci fi geeks should be united with me in this, otherwise no one would be able "To boldly go where no one has gone before"...

Re:Or more reasonable policies by Mr.+Slippery · 2008-09-24 02:06 · Score: 2, Informative · on Students Are Always Half Right In Pittsburgh

If you wanted to really be a stickler, you wouldn't end your sentence with a preposition.

If you were a stickler for forcing Latin grammar upon English sentences, perhaps. But English has no such rule. A preposition is a fine word to end a sentence with.

Re:useful study animal by Ginger+Unicorn · 2008-09-23 21:58 · Score: 1 · on Bringing Giant Tortoises Back From Extinction

"produced by humans (opposed to natural):"

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/artificial?jss=0

"made by hand" is a specific subset of "produced by humans". For instance, genocide isn't exactly "made by hand" but it is exclusively "produced by humans" and therefore is artificial, and therefore if you used "unnatural" as a synonym of "artificial" as a lot of people do (hence the point i was making) you can say that genocide is unnatural.

i would like to make clear that in general, and in this case, i don't use unnatural as a synonym for artificial, but was simply pointing out where the people tend to argue at cross purposes with regards to the idea of something being "unnatural" or not

if you look at http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/unnatural?jss=0 you can see that the conflation of definitions 1 and 4 is where people often slip up in this kind of argument

Re:Study confirms most popups are idiotic by riceboy50 · 2008-09-23 17:54 · Score: 1 · on Popup Study Confirms Most Users Are Idiots

hyperbolic. 1. having the nature of hyperbole; exaggerated. 2. using hyperbole; exaggerating. Your anecdotes about common knowledge and user behavior are insufficient to support your broad conclusions.

Re:Negotiate? Huh? by mbone · 2008-09-23 02:15 · Score: 1 · on Mars Rover's Epic Trek For the Crater Endeavor

What is the origin of that?

Pretty common usage in context (e.g., navigation). See the 4th entry in Dictionary.com :

to move through, around, or over in a satisfactory manner:

Re:Cusioned? by caluml · 2008-09-21 09:12 · Score: 1 · on IT Workers Cushioned From US Economic Downturn

I'd be more worried about that "sincerety" in your sig, if I were you :)

Re:The Press Need a sense of SANITY by BitZtream · 2008-09-21 06:37 · Score: 1 · on YouTube Bans Gun and Knife Videos In the UK

Perhaps you should learn what xenophobia is ... it's kind of silly to call me xenophobic when I'm an American refering to American football players. Or at lease use know what the words mean before you use them. I think that one is just a little too big for you.

Add yourself to your foe list so your sig fits properly.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/xenophobia
an unreasonable fear or hatred of foreigners or strangers or of that which is foreign or strange.

Finance Industry by duyn · 2008-09-19 22:41 · Score: 1 · on Ray Beckerman Sued By the RIAA

When money is "made" for "sale", all similarly backed money loses value. To be considered an industry, the finance "industry" must create money, thereby devaluing its own product. My aversion is to calling it an industry, when it is strictly commerce; the buying and selling of existing money.

I would suggest that the financial industry does not need to "create" money any more than the water industry has to "create" water. It is an organisation of resources that makes money available to places where it might not otherwise be as easy to get to. It bottles up the risk (which is what the financial industry really deals in) to make it easier for investors to drink, so to speak.

There shouldn't be a financial industry! Industry produces and commerce sells.

By this, do you mean it shouldn't be referred to as an industry? If so, you're losing the same war that pedantics did over "begging the question".

If, on the other hand, you mean screwing around with money shouldn't be done on such a large scale, I would disagree. As has been said countless times, debt greases the wheels of capitalism and the "financial industry" is built up around managing the risk that people won't pay you back. Having a financial industry lets us (as a whole) take on more risky endeavours than not, at lower cost.

Even The Fed, however, can not change the simple truth that printing more money devalues that same money. Its an industry that, simply by its existence, is self destructive.

The financial industry doesn't print money. It makes it more freely available. There's still the same amount of cash in the economy, but it's being used more effectively. Rich people aren't wandering the streets looking for people to lend to and entrepreneurs aren't walking around searching for someone who will lend to them. The only thing self-destructive about it is the massive ego of most investment bankers.

Financial Commerce is a much more accurate term.

Commerce usually refers to the field of activity, whilst industry tends to refer to the firms engaged in that field of activity. Of course, the debate is purely academic.