www/philosophy words-to-avoid.html

[Richard M. Stallman]

CVSROOT:        /web/www
Module name:    www
Changes by:     Richard M. Stallman <rms>       16/12/27 16:32:20

Modified files:
        philosophy     : words-to-avoid.html 

Log message:
        (Consume): Rewrite substantial parts.

CVSWeb URLs:
http://web.cvs.savannah.gnu.org/viewcvs/www/philosophy/words-to-avoid.html?cvsroot=www&r1=1.234&r2=1.235

Patches:
Index: words-to-avoid.html
===================================================================
RCS file: /web/www/www/philosophy/words-to-avoid.html,v
retrieving revision 1.234
retrieving revision 1.235
diff -u -b -r1.234 -r1.235
--- words-to-avoid.html 4 Oct 2016 05:41:28 -0000       1.234
+++ words-to-avoid.html 27 Dec 2016 16:32:19 -0000      1.235
@@ -370,15 +370,28 @@
 stretch.  Applying it to published works (programs, recordings on a
 disk or in a file, books on paper or in a file), whose nature is to
 last indefinitely and which can be run, played or read any number of
-times, is simply an error.  Playing a recording, or running a program,
-does not consume it.</p>
+times, is stretching the word so far that it snaps.  Playing a
+recording, or running a program, does not consume it.</p>
 
 <p>
-The term &ldquo;consume&rdquo; is associated with the economics of
-uncopyable material products, and leads people to transfer its
-conclusions unconsciously to copiable digital works &mdash; an error
-that proprietary software developers (and other publishers) dearly
-wish to encourage.  Their twisted viewpoint comes through clearly
+Those who use &ldquo;consume&rdquo; in this context will say they
+don't mean it literally.  What, then, does it mean?  It means to regard
+copies of software and other works from a narrow economistic point of
+view.  &ldquo;Consume&rdquo; is associated with the economics of
+material commodities, such as the fuel or electricity that a car uses
+up.  Gasoline is a commodity, and so is electricity.  Commodities
+are <em>fungible</em>: there is nothing special about a drop of
+gasoline that your car burns today versus another drop that it burned
+last week.</p>
+
+<p>Do we want people to think of writings (software, news, any other
+kind) as a commodity, with the assumption that there is nothing
+special about any one story, article, program, or song?  Should we
+treat them as fungible?  That is the twisted viewpoint of an
+economist, 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
 article</a>, which also refers to publications as
 &ldquo;<a href="#Content">content</a>.&rdquo;</p>
@@ -393,25 +406,31 @@
 
 <p>
 It also encourages the acceptation of &ldquo;streaming&rdquo;
-services, which use DRM to limit use of digital recordings to a
-form that fits the word &ldquo;consume.&rdquo;</p>
+services, which use DRM to perversely limit listening to music so that
+it fits the assumptions of the word &ldquo;consume.&rdquo;</p>
 
 <p>
 Why is this perverse usage spreading?  Some may feel that the term
-sounds sophisticated; if that attracts you, rejecting it with cogent
-reasons can appear even more sophisticated.  Others may be acting from
-business interests (their own, or their employers').  Their use
-of the term in prestigious forums gives the impression that it's the
+sounds sophisticated, but rejecting it with cogent reasons can appear
+even more sophisticated.  Others may be acting from business interests
+(their own, or their employers').  Their use of the term in
+prestigious forums gives the impression that it's the
 &ldquo;correct&rdquo; term.</p>
 
 <p>
 To speak of &ldquo;consuming&rdquo; music, fiction, or any other
 artistic works is to treat them as products rather than as art.  If
-you don't want to spread that attitude, you would do well to reject
-using the term &ldquo;consume&rdquo; for them.  We recommend saying
-that someone &ldquo;experiences&rdquo; an artistic work or a work
-stating a point of view, and that someone &ldquo;uses&rdquo; a
-practical work.</p>
+you don't want to spread that attitude, you would do well to avoid
+using the term &ldquo;consume&rdquo; for them.  What to use instead?
+We prefer specific verbs such as &ldquo;listen to&rdquo;,
+&ldquo;watch&rdquo;, &ldquo;read&rdquo; or &ldquo;look at&rdquo;,
+since they help to restrain the tendency to overgeneralize.</p>
+
+<p>When it is absolutely necessary to generalize about all kinds of
+works and all media, we recommend &ldquo;experience&rdquo; or
+&ldquo;give attention to&rdquo; for an artistic work or a work to
+present a point of view, and &ldquo;use&rdquo; for a practically
+useful work.</p>
 
 <p>See also the following entry.</p>
 
@@ -1261,7 +1280,7 @@
 
 <p class="unprintable">Updated:
 <!-- timestamp start -->
-$Date: 2016/10/04 05:41:28 $
+$Date: 2016/12/27 16:32:19 $
 <!-- timestamp end -->
 </p>
 </div>