I swear that when I came to work this morning, I was going to rant here about the use of the word “idiotarian.” I hate that word. It pisses me off. I often read things that I don’t agree with (on purpose). I read things that I think are stupid, or dishonest, or sadly, pathetically based on misinformation. I even read things that reek of bigotry and ignorance and make me grind my teeth. And yet I somehow resist the temptation to make up words that smugly express my contempt for those people that write them. Words like “idiotarian” are a crutch. If someone is wrong, prove it, or argue it, or just ignore it and move on. Flinging moronic terms at them as some sort of in joke for the fellow denizens of your echo chamber is, to be frank, pathetic. Anyway, Anil wrote his own rant about “anti-idiotarians” and “pundits” today as well. I promise I’m not copying. I don’t know what lit a fire under him, but for me it was Eric S Raymond.