jimji - 5:58 am on Jun 29, 2012 (gmt 0)

But to where would they move, and wouldn't the risk be of a similar change elsewhere?

NOTE: The quote is truncated.

I say the answer to the question is undeniably, YES.

That is the reason I have crossed the line from skeptical scrutiny to advocacy.

It is time to look at the bigger picture of the industry as a whole and that means looking at what rights these customers have. And, yes, I mean to use the word "customer" and not "user".

As noted in a previous post, just because the price of the product was 0 dollars / pounds / Euros when you signed up for the product should not make you any less a "customer" than the fella or gal that might have paid 100 dollars / pounds / Euros.

Besides the "soup line mentality" another problem is the idea that we are "users" and not "customers". It implies a belittling of the human when he/she is referred to as a "user".

If you, who may be reading this, disagree and view the user with the same respect as the customer, that's absolutely great and my hat is off to you. Unfortunately, I think you might be a minority. That needs to change.

We need more awareness of what the little things in the language may signify and cause to shape attitudes and I have seen far too often the term "user" used in a sense that meant to imply the person who was being addressed was a tad below the level of a customer.