Aboriginal

Cycling back through the rain of the english summer, I was turning over in my mind who knew what in our firmware group, and thought of one person who had "aboriginal" knowledge. And immeadiately thought that the word is now perjorative, most clearly when reduced to "abo" by the Strines. But what I meant was what it originally meant: someone who has been there from the beginning, and has the kind of knowledge you only get as you make and watch the thing being built up around you.

Thats a bit brief, isn't it? So let me point you at David Appells rant against the blogosphere. The G8 deserves rant some time, too.

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'Aboriginal' isn't pejorative at all and is still used officially in Australia by indigenous and non-indigenous people. For example the Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies, among many other organisations.