Gently, sir. With full respect for you and your faithful defense of an often- disliked OS, I must humbly advise checking the dictionary. An apologist is simply "one who speaks or writes in defense of someone or something" (http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=apologist or http://www.bartleby.com/61/98/A0369800.html). It comes from the old definition of apology, meaning an explanation or defense (see http://www.bartleby.com/61/1/A0370100.html definition 2a, http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=apology def. 1a or http://www.wordsmyth.net/cgi-bin/simplesearch.cgi?matchent=apology&matchtype=exact&matchid=-1&retall=1 definition 2). As an example, C.S. Lewis is known as "a Christian Apologist" and I can assure you that he spends no time making excuses for Christianity, but rather defends and explains it. Alfredo intended no offense, I am certain, as, in my experience, the term has been exclusively a term of respect and deference. With his nose in a dictionary, Ted -- Ted Ashton ([log in to unmask]), Info Sys, Southern Adventist University ========================================================== Whoever despises the high wisdom of mathematics nourishes himself on delusion and will never still the sophistic sciences whose only product is an eternal uproar. -- da Vinci, Leonardo (1452-1519) ========================================================== Deep thought to be found at http://www.southern.edu/~ashted * To join/leave the list, search archives, change list settings, * * etc., please visit http://raven.utc.edu/archives/hp3000-l.html *
