I never understood how this sentence became a defense. Yes, yes it is. It is semantics. Everything is semantics. The difference between getting fired and getting laid off is semantics, and everybody cares about it and recognizes it. The difference between "I'll pick you up at 5pm" and "I promise I will pick you up at 5pm even if my car breaks down and the train gets derailed" is semantics. Calling something "semantics" isn't a defense to your argument; it's often more like a concession. (And the difference between a defense and a concession is, as I'm sure you realize, also semantics...)
Since we're being semantic about things, lets be clear that when someone says it's all "semantics" they mean that the person is engaging in a semantic dispute. This is a type of argument that has a specific meaning-
> A semantic dispute is a disagreement that arises if the parties involved disagree about the definition of a word or phrase, not because they disagree on material facts, but rather because they disagree on the definitions of a word (or several words) essential to formulating the claim at issue.
When someone is "arguing semantics" they are often trying to obfuscate the original issue being discussed.
In this specific case the argument is being made that Intel is trying to use a different meaning for the word "bug" that favors them. redcalx is then stating the general definition of "bug" in an attempt to point out how limiting and nonstandard their definition is.
> When someone is "arguing semantics" they are often trying to obfuscate the original issue being discussed.
Well (and the irony is not lost on me here), this wasn't part of the definition of a semantic dispute that you just presumably quoted... it was just something you tacked onto it afterward. And the entire problem is that to you a semantic dispute might imply the original issue is being obfuscated, whereas to the other person it might imply you are trying to stretch your own ideas to where they wouldn't apply.
Read your own definition: you said a semantic dispute is when they disagree on essential words. Not fluff words. People don't need to disagree on facts to have legitimate disagreements about about their interpretations and consequences. We all agree the CPU behaved in an undesirable way. There is no debate there, but that fact was insufficient to get us anywhere. What we disagree on is whether that is a "bug", which matters to all sides because it has consequences as who is to resolve the issue and how.
> In this specific case the argument is being made that Intel is trying to use a different meaning for the word "bug" that favors them.
[Edit: I misread part of the comment here; see below.]
If it's "unintended behavior", then, sure, the CPU has "bugs", but that's a pretty useless definition that gets you nowhere (especially legally). If it's "does not perform as specified", which at least to me is a more logical choice, then I'm afraid I have not seen a shred of evidence that they ever claimed memory contents are immune from CPU timing/cache/etc. effects.
> ...you cannot seriously expect this to be a convincing argument without offering your own kosher definition (read: semantics) of "bug".
It's kind of hilarious that the only reason you can claim this is because of your selective editing. The whole statement you are responding too is this-
> In this specific case the argument is being made that Intel is trying to use a different meaning for the word "bug" that favors them. redcalx is then stating the general definition of "bug" in an attempt to point out how limiting and nonstandard their definition is.
Since you missed it the first time redcalx is already making the argument for me. I don't need to supply a separate version of the definition, I just need you to read the original message you were responding too.
Shoot, apologies for that, this was a silly reading error on my part... I quickly read that comment while outside and didn't realize 'redcalx' was referring to the user above, and instead somehow my brain just glossed over that part as a typo.
Disregard that part of my comment and look at all the rest of what I've actually been saying. The problem I have been trying to point out with the definition (as in the last comment, but I'll repeat here) is that the definition of a "bug" might be "just semantics" to you, but that doesn't make it irrelevant; those semantics make all the practical differences here. If you consider any undesirable behavior in unintended situations to be a "bug", then it sure sounds good, but won't get you anywhere, given that practically anything you buy can be used in weird ways with unforeseen (and hence unintended) consequences. If you consider a "bug" to be a deviation from the manufacturer's specified behavior, then it's obviously more limiting, but I would expect it's closer to the semantics a court would use to decide whether to hold the manufacturer responsible.
I never understood how this sentence became a defense. Yes, yes it is. It is semantics. Everything is semantics. The difference between getting fired and getting laid off is semantics, and everybody cares about it and recognizes it. The difference between "I'll pick you up at 5pm" and "I promise I will pick you up at 5pm even if my car breaks down and the train gets derailed" is semantics. Calling something "semantics" isn't a defense to your argument; it's often more like a concession. (And the difference between a defense and a concession is, as I'm sure you realize, also semantics...)