www/philosophy words-to-avoid.html

[Richard M. Stallman]

CVSROOT:        /web/www
Module name:    www
Changes by:     Richard M. Stallman <rms>       13/05/01 20:57:22

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

Log message:
        (Consume, Consumer): Rewrite.
        (Digital Rights Management): Add link to DefectiveByDesign.org.
        Mention the abbreviation DRM.
        (MP3 Player): Clarify.

CVSWeb URLs:
http://web.cvs.savannah.gnu.org/viewcvs/www/philosophy/words-to-avoid.html?cvsroot=www&r1=1.158&r2=1.159

Patches:
Index: words-to-avoid.html
===================================================================
RCS file: /web/www/www/philosophy/words-to-avoid.html,v
retrieving revision 1.158
retrieving revision 1.159
diff -u -b -r1.158 -r1.159
--- words-to-avoid.html 10 Mar 2013 19:24:25 -0000      1.158
+++ words-to-avoid.html 1 May 2013 20:57:21 -0000       1.159
@@ -239,29 +239,39 @@
 &ldquo;Consume&rdquo; refers to what we do with food: we ingest it, and use it 
in
 a way that uses it up.  By analogy, we employ the same word to describe
 using other things in a way that uses them up.  However, it is
-erroneous to speak of &ldquo;consuming&rdquo; digital information, music,
-software, etc., since using them does not consume them.  See also the
-following entry.</p>
+erroneous to speak of &ldquo;consuming&rdquo; information, music, books,
+software, etc., since using them does not use them up.</p>
+
+<p>Why is this perverse usage spreading?  Perhaps people feel that
+they will sound sophisticated by using a fashionable term from
+economics.  However, the economics they cite is imappropriate for the
+activity they are talking about.  See the following entry.</p>
 
 <h4 id="Consumer">&ldquo;Consumer&rdquo;</h4>
 <p>
-The term &ldquo;consumer,&rdquo; when used to refer to the users of computing,
-is loaded with assumptions we should reject.  Playing a digital
+The term &ldquo;consumer,&rdquo; when used to refer to the users of
+computing, is loaded with assumptions we should reject.  Playing a
 recording, or running a program, does not consume it.</p>
 <p>
 The terms &ldquo;producer&rdquo; and &ldquo;consumer&rdquo; come from
-economic theory, and bring with them its narrow perspective and
-misguided assumptions.  These tend to warp your thinking.</p>
-<p>
-In addition, describing the users of software as &ldquo;consumers&rdquo;
-presumes a narrow role for them: it regards them as sheep that
-passively graze on what others make available to them.</p>
-<p>
-This kind of thinking leads to travesties such as the CBDTPA 
-(&ldquo;Consumer Broadband and Digital Television Promotion Act&rdquo;)
-which proposed to require copying restriction facilities in every digital
-device.  If all the users do is &ldquo;consume,&rdquo; then why should
-they mind?</p>
+economics and its treatment of material products.  Thus, using them
+leads people to mistakenly apply to copiable digital data all that
+they know about the economics of uncopiable material products.  Of
+course, this error is exactly the one proprietary software developers
+want people to make.</p>
+<p>
+In addition, describing the users of software as
+&ldquo;consumers&rdquo; presumes they are limited to helplessly
+selecting from whatever &ldquo;products&rdquo; are available in the
+&ldquo;market.&rdquo; There is no room in this mind-set for the idea
+that users can exercise control over the software they use.</p>
+<p>
+The limited thinking associated with &ldquo;consumers&rdquo; leads to
+outrages such as the CBDTPA (&ldquo;Consumer Broadband and Digital
+Television Promotion Act&rdquo;) which proposed to
+require <a href="http://DefectiveByDesign.org/";>Digital Restrictions
+Management (DRM)</a> facilities in every digital device.  If all the
+users do is &ldquo;consume,&rdquo; why should they object?</p>
 <p>
 The shallow economic conception of users as &ldquo;consumers&rdquo; tends
 to go hand in hand with the idea that published works are mere
@@ -269,7 +279,7 @@
 <p>
 To describe people who are not limited to passive use of works, we
 suggest terms such as &ldquo;individuals&rdquo; and
-&ldquo;citizens&rdquo;.</p>
+&ldquo;citizens&rdquo; &mdash; not &ldquo;consumers.&rdquo;</p>
 
 
 <h4 id="Content">&ldquo;Content&rdquo;</h4>
@@ -358,16 +368,19 @@
 
 <h4 id="DigitalRightsManagement">&ldquo;Digital Rights Management&rdquo;</h4>
 <p>
-&ldquo;Digital Rights Management&rdquo; refers to technical schemes
-designed to impose restrictions on computer users.  The use of the
-word &ldquo;rights&rdquo; in this term is propaganda, designed to lead
-you unawares into seeing the issue from the viewpoint of the few that
+&ldquo;Digital Rights Management&rdquo; (abbreviated
+&ldquo;DRM&rdquo;) refers to technical mechanisms designed to impose
+restrictions on computer users.  The use of the word
+&ldquo;rights&rdquo; in this term is propaganda, designed to lead you
+unawares into seeing the issue from the viewpoint of the few that
 impose the restrictions, and ignoring that of the general public on
 whom these restrictions are imposed.</p>
 <p>
 Good alternatives include &ldquo;Digital Restrictions
 Management,&rdquo; and &ldquo;digital handcuffs.&rdquo;</p>
-
+<p>
+Please sign up to support our <a href="http://DefectiveByDesign.org/";>
+campaign to abolish DRM</a>.</p>
 
 <h4 id="Ecosystem">&ldquo;Ecosystem&rdquo;</h4>
 <p>
@@ -564,8 +577,7 @@
 all.  Some support the patent-free audio codecs Ogg Vorbis and FLAC,
 and may not even support MP3-encoded files at all, precisely to avoid
 these patents.  To call such players &ldquo;MP3 players&rdquo; is not
-only confusing, it also puts MP3 in an undeserved position of
-privilege which encourages people to continue using that vulnerable format.
+only confusing, it also privileges the MP3 that we ought to reject.
 We suggest the terms &ldquo;digital audio player,&rdquo;
 or simply &ldquo;audio player&rdquo; if context permits.</p>
 
@@ -813,7 +825,7 @@
 
 <p>Updated:
 <!-- timestamp start -->
-$Date: 2013/03/10 19:24:25 $
+$Date: 2013/05/01 20:57:21 $
 <!-- timestamp end -->
 </p>
 </div>