Calling moving objects 'stealing', calling for 'dishonest citizens' etc gives moving a bad connotation which it hardly deserves at all, especially not in correct code. The main reason is that the object which is moved from is usually not going to be used anymore anyway so it doesn't matter what happens to it's content. That is just how it is meant to be used by the folks designing it: transferring content. Calling that stealing would be like calling the righteous transport of goods from one warehouse to another warehouse stealing: it is not, all involved parties know that after the transaction the first warehouse will be empty and the latter is full. The premise set in this article (first move, then use the object again and expect it to have content) goes against this. Which is actually fine, unless of course you expect that moving somehow leaves the original intact. Which it doesn't, that is what copying is supposed to be used for. At least in my opinion.