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The fact that you had to employ the modifier "completely" to make your point suggests that the headline's use of the verb "censor" was defensible.
by irons 15y ago
The fact that you had to employ the modifier "completely" to make your point suggests that the headline's use of the verb "censor" was defensible.
- Groxx 15y agoYou just rationalized all hyperbole. Their post was obliterated. Could not be found. Ceased to exist. The DMCA take-down notice removed TechDirt from Google. TechDirt was erased. All completely true if you don't require modifiers to be stated. I'd prefer that HN doesn't turn into a tabloid.
- irons 15y agoThis is a wonderful linguistic cul-de-sac you've steered into, but the fact remains that "censor" means "suppress"; it does not mean "eradicate". When the government of China or Acela's internet filtering vendor block a site, they are censoring it, without removing it from the internet. The same principle applies here.
- Groxx 15y agoIndeed - it was only eradicated from Google's search results. My point is that that's a modifier, therefore the use of it is defensible...? That's an objective claim that's completely ridiculous when taken to other contexts. Whether it's alarmist / excessive is subjective. And, since either would be technically correct, it probably has more to do with implied meanings or the common use of a word, and not the dictionary definition. Their usage of it is certainly defensible, but that has little to do with whether or not a modifier would make it more accurate.
- rhizome 15y agoNo, not "all hyperbole." Just the title.