On Fri, 12 Jan 1996 10:29:54 -0500, Fred Atkinson wrote:
>        I've just started a new listserv.  I am trying to figure out how to
>transmit the name of my listserv...
 
Is anyone else bothered by the increasingly widespread habit of referring
to a list as a "listserv?"  The common failure to distinguish between the
server and the service not only results in confused communications (is the
question how to get a newly installed server's lists included on global
listings are simply how to get a specific list on the global listings--two
quite different questions), but also leads to folks sending commands to
lists and messages to LISTSERV (or more often to listname-request as a
reply to the Welcome message.
 
I dispare of educating the population in general to recognize that
effective communication requires some attention to the meaning (much less
the spelling) of words--think of all the people that set loose everything
they meant to lose--but it would be nice if those of us managing the system
could keep our syntax clear; there's chaos enough in the world already.
 
/s Murphy A. Sewall <[log in to unmask]> (860) 486-2489 voice
   Professor of Marketing                          (860) 456-7725 fax
   http://mktg.sba.uconn.edu/MKT/Faculty/Sewall.html