Potterybarning

Potterybarning is a term derived from The Pottery Barn Rule in American political jargon ("You break it, you bought it). It is a social outcome where a soft transferrence of ownership/responsibility of a particular task from one individual occurs following a question or critisism by another. It is mechanically related to expression of resentment or ad hominen attacks from a person whose idea is questioned or criticized. An example: Person A "We should get a truck!" Person B "Well, how much will that cost?" Person A "Look, we've wanted this for a long time. Do you want to find that out and let us know?" Person B "(to self) I thought I was asking a question, not taking on a committment!" Person A (after long stunned pause by B) "I'm trying to empower you!" This term (as applied to Free Geek) was coined by Luiz.