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"Exploitation" vs. "Exploit"

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BMCT2010

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Dec 21, 2009, 5:51:21 PM12/21/09
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The question has recently entered my mind whether there is a
distinction drawn between the word "exploit," and "exploitation," in
terms of reference being made to an exploitable vulnerability found in
a computer system. In general, I think the terms are interchangeable;
but an "exploitation" might refer to something other than an
"exploit," as the word "exploit" predicates the act of exploiting a
weakness, as in, "To exploit a computer system is illegal," or, "I
exploited my neighbor for $5." While the "exploitation" itself <i>is</
i> the weakness. Any suggestions are appreciated.

thanks

tony cooper

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Dec 21, 2009, 6:17:53 PM12/21/09
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On Mon, 21 Dec 2009 14:51:21 -0800 (PST), BMCT2010 <BMCT...@AOL.com>
wrote:

Your sentence "I exploited my neighbor for $5." is not idiomatic
English. Your neighbor may be the victim of exploitation, but it
would not be expressed in this way.

You might say "I exploited my neighbor, who is house-bound, by
frequently leaving my children in her care and not paying her as a
baby-sitter". To "exploit" is to "take advantage of" in this context.
It's not a word that takes a specific dollar figure as you have done.

--
Tony Cooper - Orlando, Florida

Glenn Knickerbocker

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Dec 21, 2009, 6:33:39 PM12/21/09
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BMCT2010 wrote:
> The question has recently entered my mind whether there is a
> distinction drawn between the word "exploit," and "exploitation,"

"Exploit" as a noun meaning an act of exploitation is computer jargon.
"Exploitation" is normal English.

The jargon-word has only the negative meaning. The normal word also has
the more positive meaning of productive use. Making good use of the
onboard memory in the CPU is exploitation but not an exploit.

�R

mm

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Dec 22, 2009, 12:20:40 PM12/22/09
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On Mon, 21 Dec 2009 18:33:39 -0500, Glenn Knickerbocker
<No...@bestweb.net> wrote:

>BMCT2010 wrote:
>> The question has recently entered my mind whether there is a
>> distinction drawn between the word "exploit," and "exploitation,"
>
>"Exploit" as a noun meaning an act of exploitation is computer jargon.

Yes. Plus I believe in computer jargon it also means a weakness, for
example a vulnerability to a virus, a meaning that grates on me,
because it's bass-ackwards from any earlier meaning of exploit that I
know. It's the virus or the virus writer which is engaging in an
exploit, but instead they say the victim computer or computer program
has an exploit.

>"Exploitation" is normal English.
>
>The jargon-word has only the negative meaning. The normal word also has
>the more positive meaning of productive use.

Or of fun, daring, and excitement: Some of my exploits have been
hitchhiking to Panama, riding my bicycle across the Verrazanno Bridge
(in violation of their rules), and walking alone in the woods in the
dark, falling into a ditch and sleeping all night in the ditch with a
broken leg. In retrospect, even the last one was good, but probably
not conisidered productive. The exploits of Indiana Jones are even
more exciting than mine.

from dictionary.com: a striking or notable deed; feat; spirited or
heroic act.

Making good use of the
>onboard memory in the CPU is exploitation but not an exploit.
>
>�R

--
Posters should say where they live, and for which area
they are asking questions. I was born and then lived in
Western Pa. 10 years
Indianapolis 7 years
Chicago 6 years
Brooklyn, NY 12 years
Baltimore 26 years

Glenn Knickerbocker

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Dec 22, 2009, 6:58:41 PM12/22/09
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mm wrote:

> <No...@bestweb.net> wrote:
> >"Exploitation" is normal English.
> >The jargon-word has only the negative meaning. The normal word also has
> >the more positive meaning of productive use.
> Or of fun, daring, and excitement: Some of my exploits

No, the normal word "exploitation." (The normal English noun "exploit"
is, of course, exactly as you describe and has little to do with the
homonymous jargon-word.)

�R

mm

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Dec 22, 2009, 10:16:56 PM12/22/09
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On Tue, 22 Dec 2009 18:58:41 -0500, Glenn Knickerbocker
<No...@bestweb.net> wrote:

>mm wrote:
>> <No...@bestweb.net> wrote:
>> >"Exploitation" is normal English.
>> >The jargon-word has only the negative meaning. The normal word also has
>> >the more positive meaning of productive use.
>> Or of fun, daring, and excitement: Some of my exploits
>
>No, the normal word "exploitation."

See below**.

Well, again, you don't say where you are, but in the US, Indiana Jones
and I engage in exploits, not exploitation.

One can exploit the natural resources of a location, and one can
exploit migrant workers who will work for very little money, and the
second and probably the first are exploitation, but what I've done
isn't.

> (The normal English noun "exploit"
>is, of course, exactly as you describe and has little to do with the
>homonymous jargon-word.)

Are you sure it's not the same word used with a backwards meaning?
Isn't my word the origin of the jargon-word, and doesn't that make
them the same word? If not, what is the origin of the computer-jargon
word.

**Wait a second. Now you're agreeing with me, but you started of,
with "No" and three other words. I must not have understood those
four words.

Peter Duncanson (BrE)

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Dec 23, 2009, 5:58:02 AM12/23/09
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I've lost track of who is agreeing or disagreeing with what or whom.

As previously said, there are two meanings of the computer jargon word
"exploit". The first is "an instance of exploiting a vulnerability or
hole". The second is "an exploitable vulnerability or hole".

The first matches the meaning of the verb "exploit" more closely than
does the non-jargon word "exploit" which seems to have more to do with
adventure than exploiting.

The second meaning is, to me, vomit provoking.

--
Peter Duncanson, UK
(in alt.english.usage)

Glenn Knickerbocker

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Dec 23, 2009, 8:11:18 AM12/23/09
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On Wed, 23 Dec 2009 10:58:02 +0000, Peter Duncanson (BrE) wrote:
>I've lost track of who is agreeing or disagreeing with what or whom.

Nobody's disagreeing. I was just clarifying which word I meant by "the
normal word."

>The first matches the meaning of the verb "exploit"

Exactly. The jargon-word is formed from that verb, which has the same
origin as the ordinary noun "exploit" but a completely different meaning.
The verb is itself rather new--imported from French a few decades after
"exploitation" was, according to etymonline.com.

�R Blather, Rinse, Repeat.
http://users.bestweb.net/~notr/telecom.html

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