A short definition of passive income according to Investopedia:
Earnings an individual derives from a rental property, limited partnership or other enterprises in which he or she is not materially involved
As I've seen recently on this topic that there's still someone who misinterpreting the real definition of passive income and uttering the thing that's out of context ( in this case, passive income ).
Doing tasks to get paid ain't considered as a passive income
Indeed, doing tasks for remuneration can hardly be considered a passive income
But, on the other hand, the definition that you cited from Investopedia is no less misleading (and you likely have taken it out of context as well). Really, if someone derives his income from an enterprise, how can he possibly be not materially involved in it? It is just this involvement there (material or not seems to be irrelevant here) that allows him to receive income in the first place.
If you have nothing to do with some company, you can't get any earnings off them, obviously. In the same way, renting out property can only marginally be considered as passive income
This does seem to be inconsistent with what you're trying to convince me, since the crux of your argument is that a capital appreciation from an investment
is an income since you're selling it for more than what you bought it for. Most stock owners have absolutely nothing to do with the business they are part owners of, they are merely passive owners of the stake. Most institutional investors who own a sizable portion of public companies are not even materially involved with the businesses they buy stakes in, they are also passive owners. It's not an official definition, but I would consider "materially involved with" to mean having a daily responsibility with regards to the business, or having the ability to exert control over the business, and in fact doing so. The majority of stock owners don't have either of those, but do in fact have earnings from their ownership stake. It's just that I thought our difference was that you considered that a passive income, where I did not.
To answer the question you posed, if someone is receiving dividends from an investment, they do not have to be materially involved in the business, but the payments are passive income.