On Thu, 28 Sep 2006 09:27:45 -0400, Barry Margolin <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>In article <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, > Al Klein <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > >> On Wed, 27 Sep 2006 09:34:32 -0500, Jay Belanger <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >> wrote: >> >> >Al Klein <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: >> >... >> >> Free Software may, but free software refers to software that's free >> >> (by any of the many definitions of the word "free". (That's how >> >> English [and most other languages] works.) >> > >> >Really? The meaning of the adjective doesn't depend on the noun it >> >modifies? >> >> Not necessarily. Defining "free" as "without cost" is perfectly >> legitimate, as long as the particular usage isn't illogical. Any >> meaning can be defined into uselessness if illogicality is allowed. > >And sometimes both meanings are logical, and then context is used to >determine which is most likely intended. And, in the English-speaking world, "free" is almost always (let's say by millions to one, at least) used, when used with a product, to mean "with no charge". *VERY FEW* people use free as in freedom when using it to modify the name of a product or product type. >And in the GNU and Linux newsgroups, the context establishes that "free >software" refers to freedom, not price. 1) You're posting to acf as well. 2) Linux and GNU constitute a minuscule part of the English-speaking world. -- It's back - http://www.webdingers.com/filelist.html _______________________________________________ gnu-misc-discuss mailing list gnu-misc-discuss@gnu.org http://lists.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/gnu-misc-discuss
