[viraptor]

This is effectively a prescriptive vs descriptive language issue. And prescriptive side always loses, because the people adjust the word meaning for a reason.

The expected usage here is: This device goes under the desk / into some closet, runs headless, runs 24/7 and provides some services on the network. It's a server. That's how people use this word these days, RPi is a server device too. (See /r/selfhosted)

[ImPostingOnHN]

Fortunately, descriptivism doesn't "win" (what does that even mean in a discussion about both how things are and how they should be?), but if it did, the computer in question still wouldn't be called a server, because that isn't what most people would call it. Only the manufacturers and a select few techies would call it a server.

> The expected usage here is: This device goes under the desk / into some closet, runs headless, runs 24/7 and provides some services on the network.

The same is true of many configurations of home computers, yet the hardware isn't called* "server" hardware, and they aren't called* "servers" either, unless they're actually serving something. When you buy it at the store, it's just called a computer.

*: 'not called' as in, most people don't call it that, so descriptivist, and they shouldn't, so prescriptivist, too