content-free

1. (By analogy with "context-free") Used of a message that

adds nothing to the recipient's knowledge. Though this

adjective is sometimes applied to flamage, it more usually

connotes derision for communication styles that exalt form

over substance or are centred on concerns irrelevant to the

subject ostensibly at hand. Perhaps most used with reference

to speeches by company presidents and other professional

manipulators.

See also four-colour glossies.

2. Within British schools the term refers to general-purpose

software such as a word processor, a spreadsheet or a

program that tests spelling of words supplied by the teacher.

This is in contrast to software designed to teach a particular

topic, e.g. a plant growth simulation, an interactive periodic

table or a program that tests spelling of a predetermined list

of words. Content-free software can be more cost-effective as

it can be reused for many lessons throughout the syllabus.

[Jargon File]

(1998-08-26)