Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!usc!wuarchive!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!ub!boulder!gore!jacob From: jacob@gore.com (Jacob Gore) Newsgroups: comp.sys.next Subject: Re: lawsuit flame (Was: NeXTStep 2.0 Completed) Message-ID: <130130@gore.com> Date: 12 Dec 90 22:53:47 GMT References: Reply-To: jacob@gore.com (Jacob Gore) Organization: Gore Enterprises Lines: 21 /comp.sys.next / philip@pescadero.Stanford.EDU (Philip Machanick) / Dec 12'90 / > Nonetheless, I must agree that comparing look and feel lawsuits with > situations of gross human rights abuse is over the top and does nothing > to promote FSF's generally worthy case. Such comparisons are not made to imply equivalence of the injustices. They are used merely because it's tempting to allude to something that everybody (well, almost everybody) agrees is bad, and argue that what you oppose is bad for similar reasons. However, this technique, despite being perfectly logical (assuming you can actualy demonstrate the analogy), never fails to draw furor from people who had suffered from the worse injustice of the two. Thus, it's best to avoid it. I'm pointing this out so that both sides of participants in this unfortunately digressing thread can give it a rest. Please! Jacob -- Jacob Gore Jacob@Gore.Com boulder!gore!jacob