> It seems to me there's usually a political dimension to people who refuse to understand what people mean, because its easier to denigrate people if they cling to definitions that aren't intended by their political opponents use of a word.

and to an extent, the rest of your comment - the solution, according to my PhD friend, is to establish the framing of the argument before you actually have the argument. It's more fun to not establish framing, but it's more effective to establish framing, first. I wonder if i have the publication (thesis?) he made on my NAS.