←back to thread

Let me pay for Firefox

(discourse.mozilla.org)
802 points csmantle | 1 comments | 13 Jul 25 08:38 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source
Show context
jurgenaut23 ◴[13 Jul 25 09:41 UTC] No.44548891[source]▶
I think it’s fascinating how languages shape our society. In this case, the ambiguity between free as in “at no cost” and free as in “freedom” is probably hurting the FOSS landscape. In French, there are two very distinct terms for this: “gratuit” vs “libre”. And it doesn’t sound as an oxymoron to pay for a “logiciel libre”.
replies(8): >>44548921 #>>44548988 #>>44549024 #>>44549026 #>>44549249 #>>44549374 #>>44551324 #>>44569021 #
LeoPanthera ◴[13 Jul 25 09:46 UTC] No.44548921[source]▶
“Gratis” meaning “no cost” is an English word, albeit an uncommonly used one.
replies(1): >>44548986 #
yawpitch ◴[13 Jul 25 09:58 UTC] No.44548986[source]▶
Technically that’s a Latin word that just happens to have kept the same spelling and meaning in English.
replies(3): >>44549018 #>>44549207 #>>44549269 #
hnlmorg ◴[13 Jul 25 10:36 UTC] No.44549207[source]▶
You’ve made the faux pas of presenting the spiel that a word’s etymology or genus means it cannot be English.

While an entrepreneurial view, this mammoth disinformation is equivalent to plaza cafe sofa schmooze.

(I know this isn’t the most coherent post I’ve ever made, but I wanted to make a point by cramming in as many borrowed words as I could)

replies(2): >>44549424 #>>44549734 #
1. yawpitch ◴[13 Jul 25 12:03 UTC] No.44549734[source]▶
I’m enjoying the schadenfreude (note, the English word, not the German one) of watching this thread unspool.