Respectfully, I wish people would stop popping into discussions about coronavirus to say "Actually, ...".

Most educated people know that viruses aren't alive in the traditional sense. People who aren't as educated simply don't care, and I don't blame them. Using the more scientifically precise term helps nobody, except scientists, in this situation.

Should software engineers stop using the word "kill" in POSIX-land because CPU processes aren't really "alive"? Give me a break.

I didn't bat an eye at this until you dropped in with a "Respectfully..." that sounded awfully insincere. Did your sentence really intend to convey respect? Because it came off as disingenuous.

You're searching for malice where there is none. I said nothing disrespectful.

> Respectfully, I wish people would stop popping into discussions about coronavirus to say "Actually, ...".

I answered his question while also correcting a minor mistake. Also I'm not sure what you're quoting there.

> Most educated people know that viruses aren't alive in the traditional sense. People who aren't as educated simply don't care, and I don't blame them.

Are you trying to insult your grandparent? Most people on HN aren't willfully ignorant and are quite open to new knowledge.

It’s controversial. Some would characterize viruses as alive (because they replicate and evolve). So it’s fair to say that you can kill them (prevent from replicating). Debating the semantics of this is not helpful.

And in the non-controversial case - i.e. prions, people generally don't use the term "kill", they use the term "deactivate".

Debating the classification of life, while otherwise interesting, should not derail a conversation about practical steps to fight an ongoing pandemic.