On Thu, 8 Oct 1998, Judith Hopkins wrote:

> AUTOCAT is an electronic discussion list/ a discussion list / a
> list; it is NOT a LISTSERV.  LISTSERV is the software (trademarked)
> provided by LSOFT.COM which enables us to run the list; it is the oldest
> and best-known of several software packages which perform the same basic
> function.

        Like Judith Hopkins, I am a longtime listowner of a Listserv
list, and like her I have tried to insist that people not use
"listserv" to refer to a list.  But after years of such insistence,
I've begun to wonder whether that position makes good sense.  Most
people I know refer to lists as listservs, and perhaps with good
reason.  The word "list" has many meanings; when I refer to a "list,"
it's easy to misunderstand what I mean.  When someone refers to a
"listserv," on the other hand, everyone knows that what's meant is an
e-mail discussion forum.  For that reason, I'm beginning to overcome
my reluctance to using the term.  I think clarity is of utmost
importance.

        Over and over again, successful pioneering products have had
their brand name adopted as a noun: kleenex, xerox, scotch tape,
cellophane, etc.  So why not listserv?  The uppercase version would
still refer to the brand name (as with Kleenex and Xerox), while the
lowercase version would simply refer to an email forum.  I feel like
a heretic, but I do think there's a lot to be said for this usage.

        Joan Korenman

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*    Joan Korenman                [log in to unmask]                         *
*    U. of Md., Baltimore County  http://www.umbc.edu/cwit/                 *
*    Baltimore, MD 21250          http://www.umbc.edu/wmst/                 *
*                                                                           *
*    The only person to have everything done by Friday was Robinson Crusoe  *
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