On Mon, 22 May 2000, Patrick A. O'Donnell <pao[_at_]ascent.com> wrote:
>
> [...]
> not all laymen will agree with your definition of "theft" -- that
> copying is the same as stealing. We can agree that unauthorized
> copying is wrong without resorting to emotion-laden vocabulary.
As for the word "theft", perhaps you would be correct. However, I would refer those laymen (and you at the same time, since it appears you are suggesting that "theft" and "steal" are the same) to Merriam-Webster's online dictionary to look at the definition of the word "steal". You will find the following: synonyms: STEAL, PILFER, FILCH, PURLOIN mean to take from another without right or without detection. STEAL may apply to any surreptitious taking of something and differs from the other terms by commonly applying to intangibles as well as material things. Also, I think it's quite a stretch to term the word "steal" as "emotion-laden" vocabulary. Finally, while you may think that we can all agree that unauthorized copying is wrong, that's also not so. We cannot all agree, and that's how this thread arrived at the path of discussion that it's taken. Lynn stated that the right to copy is "inherent" and therefore not "morally" wrong, so apparently she doesn't agree.
> When debating legal doctrine, even laymen are well-advised to
> attempt to learn the terminology. When advised of the differences
> or limits imposed by the legal terms of art, to _insist_ on using
> the terminology in the more vague sense is mere rhetoric, and in
> my opinion degrades the argument rather than enhancing it.
Your comment is all fine and good... except for one thing. The discussion, to my recollection, didn't start out as a "legal" one. It began as a discussion of whether or not it's "morally" wrong to copy. Just as you feel that it degrades a discussion of a legal nature to use vague terms that are not strictly legal definitions, I would suggest that so too does it degrade a *non-legal* discussion to insist on limiting the meaning of words strictly to their "legal" definitions.
Marty Hayes
<9ball[_at_]hostsite.net>
Received on Tue May 23 2000 - 15:54:23 GMT
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