A Major Definition that DA got wrong.....

Tue Dec 30, 2003 8:08 am by Neo_Kuja

I was currently bored after work and brought out a dictionary and started looking up random words. One of them was "Freelance".

Now, from the impression I have gotten from the people around these forums, from no one in particular mind, think the word "Freelancer" means a individual who works for many different companies and does different jobs (ie ,Trading etc ). Not so. This is the definition that I got from a good dictonary.

"free'lance" n.
A Mercenary SOLDIER who HAS SOLD his services to any country.

I did the parts in capital letters for emphasis, they were normal size in the dictionary. Anyway, from this we can start to draw some reasonable conclusions about Trent. He is not indeed a "Freelancer", he is a mercenary, (If you play the game as the back of the box says) ,as he works for many different factions and countries at the same peroid of time. So what is a "Freelancer" in layman's terms ?

A freelancer is a soldier who fights for a single faction/country for a source of cash/work.
Anyone who agrees or disagrees please state your opinion here. Thnx

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"Snake ,we are not tools of the government or anyone else, fighting was the only thing I was good at , but at least I always fought for what I believed in" - Grey Fox
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Edited by - Neo_Kuja on 30-12-2003 08:09:49

Tue Dec 30, 2003 8:35 am by RILMS

I'm sure there are more then one defenations of Freelancer.

You can be a freelance contractor, but you don't kill people.

Life: No one gets out alive.

Tue Dec 30, 2003 9:38 am by bom

As RILMS said, prolly alot of diffirent definitions.
Example; My dictionary says it's a Rover reporter with no allegiance to one newsagency, but rather sell their work to the highest bidder.

"Never underestimate the power of a Dark Clown!" - Darph Bobo

Tue Dec 30, 2003 11:31 am by Fear Factor

Culture and language change a lot in 1000 years. This one definition only shifts a little if any at all.

Tue Dec 30, 2003 2:40 pm by cloud9

the original meaning HAS changed a little, but not a huge amount...it started as another meaning for a mercenary, but as times have gone on it has branched into other meanings, all loosely the same; nowadays the accepted definition is any individual who sells or rents their services to a third party, generally for a set duration.

This can include freelance web design, soldier for hire or (#ahem#) prostitution!!

Tue Dec 30, 2003 4:40 pm by Puke Barwalker

Trent IS a freelancer in that he works for only ONE employer at a time. The way the game is set up, you cannot take more than one mission at a time. (You could in Privateer and Privateer RF.)

Jose Chavez: "Trent! It's good to see my kind of scum."

Tue Dec 30, 2003 7:12 pm by ShadowFire789

hmmm, I just thought it was a mercenary that wasn't hired to kill/capture people. English is one weird language

.

Ohhh! Beu-tiful! Preeety! How do I blow it up?

Tue Dec 30, 2003 9:19 pm by RILMS

It is. Modern english has taken words from french, dutch, and germen and added it to the orignal anglo/saxon dialect.

Life: No one gets out alive.

Tue Dec 30, 2003 10:14 pm by Doom_Lancer

this is from www.webster.com

1 a usually free lance : a mercenary soldier especially of the Middle Ages : CONDOTTIERE b : a person who acts independently without being affiliated with or authorized by an organization
2 : a person who pursues a profession without a long-term commitment to any one employer

Webster has been in the business of defining words a lot longer than any of us....so I'm gonna go with this one.....they show the evolution of the word a bit too...a Free Lance......knights used to use lances....those that weren't affiliated with a liege lord....were free.....free lance.....it's like a slang term that turned into a normal description.....like for instance......the mouse we all use in daily computer terms ....it got called a mouse cause thats what it looks like....not because thats what it is

Good?....Bad?......I'm the guy with the gun.

Wed Dec 31, 2003 7:32 pm by greyhawk1970

True, Trent is following the definition of a freelancer effectively. He only works for one party at a time.

Shoot first, shoot straight, win always.

Sat Jan 03, 2004 5:58 pm by Chips

Also - no-where in my dictionary is the word 'innit' - as popularised by london area. Also - many other words aren't used correctly, like Bling bling - means nothing.

New terms are made up, and others 'lost'. If it is taken one way by some, others have another meaning. Just think - 40 years ago, gay meant happy. Now it means a tub a vaseline, and communal showers! (erm - joke).

One last thing, we say grey, and that is how its spelt (am english). Americans say gray, and spell it that way. Both are the same word, and in our dictionary gray might be there.......(not sure) but its NOT the same word as Grey if you go by the spelling. Well - seeing as spellings can be different for different areas in the SAME language - then so can meanings perhaps? Anyways - i heard this forum was dead, good to see that its actually lively and active!!

Tue Jan 06, 2004 5:45 pm by squigian

My personal definition of a Freelancer is a person independent from any organisation or power who will work for any person/organisation for money or services.

Tue Jan 13, 2004 10:13 am by e-extreem

In all honesty, Does it really matter???

Why not spend your time trying to get MS and Digital Anvil to make a FL2 instead.

Tue Jan 13, 2004 3:06 pm by mustang

I'm fairly sure the definition for this thread would be nitpicking. I'm always amazed at the things people will complain about. I remember on the the back of the US box Naval was spelt Navel and a couple of guys were wanting someone fired for it. I mean come on, is it really that important. Besides the common usage for freelance work is for someone who contracts their services out to many different companies. Like a freelance architecht or web designer, you certainly don't call them mercenary web designers.

Wed Jan 14, 2004 7:07 am by Switchblade

That definition of a "freelancer" is an old one, and he definition has evolved with hte culture.

freelancers do exist today, although they're incredibly rare, and normally involved in drugs trafficking to make any decent money (cardamime, anybody?)

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