> Sarcasm and humour don't translate well in a mailing list. And on an > international list like LibrePlanet cultural differences and language > differences make sly digs potentially offensive, never mind that it > completely defeats good communication. > > It would set a good example to treat proprietary software companies > with the same respect we expect to get for upholding ethics and > freedom for users. That means not perverting their names in an attempt > at humour, and not attributing malice where none exists.
I agree that cultural differences might make it difficult, but I find it really hard to see how perverting a proprietary software company's name could offend anybody. I totally disagree that we should treat proprietary companies with any respect. They disrespect their users all the time, so why should they expect good treatment? By perverting the name, you are not giving it any advertisement, all while making it memorable for anybody that asks the original meaning. RMS does this for practically all unethical software companies and their products for the same exact reasons. I am so sick of this new society quirk of trying not to offend anybody and I certainly don't want to see it in a mailing list. It doesn't make communication any more clear, it censors the people participating in it by limiting their speech to "unoffensive" comments only, if anything. "Offensiveness" is a very subjective topic. Perhaps saying that the ocean is blue is offensive to people who think otherwise or have color blindness or something. -- Serge Hooge () ascii ribbon campaign - against HTML e-mail /\ - against proprietary attachments
