I guess I’d want to know if I was using a word incorrectly. I understand what they’re trying to say, but nefarious doesn’t make sense in this context. Maybe my pedantic correction prevents them from looking dumb in the future.
Comment on When is 0.18.3 dropping, the current weighted sorting algorithm is nefarious
edward@lemmynsfw.com 1 year agoI never understand people who obsess with words instead of language itself, not trying to disrespect you, but it’s like you are trying to prove a point or go in too deep, when the answer is very simple. It’s all about the context. You can safely say it’s criminal to show a month-old post in “Hot”.
Encode1307@lemm.ee 1 year ago
fhqwgads@possumpat.io 1 year ago
Except that nefarious is not a direct synonym for criminal. Nefarious has a subtext of specific underhanded malicious intent, whereas criminal doesn’t have the same intentional connotations.
If one were to read about a “Criminal website”, it might have instructions on how to make a bomb or something like that, whereas a “nefarious website” is likely to be read as looking normal but stealing your information.
By calling the sorting nefarious, OP has (likely) unintentionally implied that there is an underlying sinister reason for the issues, which is not likely to be the case.