Re: OT: Suggestion for next Debian release

[Tom Cook <tom.cook@adelaide.edu.au>]

Tony Crawford wrote:
> 
> Tom Cook wrote (on 18 Feb 2002 at 10:41):
> 
> > [You should be more optimistic.]  There is no interest here in
> > ridiculing anyone, even less someone who formulates his
> > criticisms and suggestions constructively.
> >
> > Here endeth the lesson. ;-)
> 
> How much is less than no interest?

This is a good point, and one which I in fact considered while writing
the message.  Although it appears non-sensical to say 'even less' than
no interest this is a fairly well accepted usage in various idioms.  The
usage is in fact meant to bring to the reader's mind the very question
you have asked; if there is no interest in X, how much must we dislike
Y?

Tom

> 
> SCNR
> 
> (BTW I'd guess that "would" was an attempt at a past tense of
> "will" in the obsolete sense of "want to": "...someone who was
> trying to formulate...")

Yes, that seems likely.  It is somewhat ambiguous, though.

Tom