Gould: Oracle to Red Hat: It's Not Your Father's Linux Market Anymore [LWN.net]

Gould: Oracle to Red Hat: It's Not Your Father's Linux Market Anymore

Posted Oct 21, 2010 20:11 UTC (Thu) by Wol (subscriber, #4433)
In reply to: Gould: Oracle to Red Hat: It's Not Your Father's Linux Market Anymore by jspaleta
Parent article: Gould: Oracle to Red Hat: It's Not Your Father's Linux Market Anymore

Except that it is the software industry (actually, MICROSOFT) who changed the meaning of the word "proprietary". And the Free Software world is desperately clinging to the Microsoft meaning of the word.

It would do everybody a great favour if we could return the word back to it's original meaning (as understood by the rest of the world) - just look at the word! It is derived from the word PROPERTY, and merely by virtue of being copyright, software is PROPERTY. Therefor, it is proprietary. And that includes linux, gcc, PostgreSQL, you name it.

Just because we choose to share it doesn't stop us owning it. Doesn't stop it being property. Doesn't stop it being proprietary.

Cheers,
Wol

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Gould: Oracle to Red Hat: It's Not Your Father's Linux Market Anymore

Posted Oct 22, 2010 17:34 UTC (Fri) by tialaramex (subscriber, #21167) [Link]

Linguists 101: Etymology is not definition. The fact that the word "proprietary" derives from a Latin word having to do with owners (and not as you've claimed from the English word property which comes via French) does not define the word.

A good rule of thumb is, if you think the meaning of a word is such that it is always redundant (as would be "proprietary" of software in this vague sense) then you probably have the meaning wrong. This follows from Grice's maxims.