I have a question about language in Linux forums and Linux related conversations generally:
Is the word proprietary a "Dirty word" in Linux circles?
In some places the term 3rd Party software is used in the context of Nvidia Drivers or CODECS for example. But it feels like "proprietary" software holds a negative connotation similar to the way that MYSQL and MARIADB are compared since Oracle now owns MYSQL.
Is my feeling of a negative connotation for the word proprietary true?

I wouldn't say "proprietary" is exactly a dirty word, exactly, but the concept is contrary to the values of free and open source software. Most Linux users who pay attention to such stuff use proprietary software (NVidia drivers are an excellent example) only if there is no other satisfactory solution for doing what they need to do.

Oracle and MySQL present a special example. The issue with Oracle is not so much proprietary vs. open source, but Oracle's history vs. open source software (and anything else it sees as competition). It was the creator of MySQL himself who forked MySQL to MariaDB when Oracle acquired MySQLfrom Sun.

Oracle also acquired VirtualBox along the way. They seem to have stewarded VirtualBox well. They passed off OpenOffice to Apache; the cynical say that they did so because they could not figure out a way to monetize it.

Just a few thoughts off the top of my head.

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No. It's just a word.

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Agreed. It’s just a word that imparts information about the thing being discussed. There’s no connotation implied IMO.

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We wish. It is commonly used as a pejorative - similar to "binary blob" for some. The more closely aligned to Stallman's strict criteria the more likely to be used this way I would posit.

I'd argue with "commonly" 'tho I have observed the pejorative use on occasion. Usually having little to do with Stallman but rather with frustration that the app/OS doesn't work as one would like it to and/or the latest update "broke" something.

I've seen this with Windows (doh) and iOS ('nother doh), but seldom in the *nix world...in my experience...but then I don't hang out with many "purists" (except here )

Yeah, and after three or four decades of that one does tend to associate BLOBs and proprietary software in general with trash. It may appear shiny and grand from time to time but the shine quickly wears off and then reality kicks in, sometimes quite hard.

So while I would say the degree to which it is considered a pejorative varies, the negative connotation is really there. Proprietary is a ever so slightly dirty word or it is very much one, but the extent depends on who you are asking and their experience.