Recently, I was discussing something about open source software in the [FOSS stack exchange](https://opensource.stackexchange.com/a/2458/4160) and to explain a certain technical concept (*permissive licenses*), I made the analogy of *dictatorship vs democracy*.

Now, I don't know whether the word dictator itself is negative or it is the bad ruler who brings it a bad name, but people seem to be taking this word quite negatively. In fact, the *WordNet* dictionary defines the word as:

```
  n 1: a speaker who dictates to a secretary or a recording
       machine

  2: a ruler who is unconstrained by law [syn: {dictator},
     {potentate}]

```

I don't see any negative connotation there. In fact, in our software world, there is the concept of a [benevolent dictator](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benevolent_dictator_for_life) which implies that dictatorship can be actually very good.