I agree, but the problem with the world of computers is that computers are
being designed to be more and more user friendly. The easier computers
become to use the more accessible they are to ppl of a non-technical
background. This is a good thing because why should computers be something
reserved for the technically "elite" when they can have very practical and
educational uses for everyone? The downside, of course, is that when
something does go wrong the users have not got the technical knowledge to
understand & explain what happened, and you could argue that if they did
understand what went wrong they are half-way towards fixing it themselves!
The same principles apply to the internet, but you can't really expect the
average user to differentiate the web from the internet when they are so
closely integrated into one experience for most ppl. And the other question
to ask is what gain, in practical terms, is there to be had from such a
distinction? The life of the Help Desk operator/manager was never meant to
be an easy one!

Spencer Warhurst
Rutherford Appleton Laboratories
JISCmail Service

*********************************
-----Original Message-----
From: Paul Russell [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: 16 February 2001 15:08
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Mailing lists on the *WEB* ???


> I just keep being told that we are held to a higher standard than
> other lists on the web!

A mailing list may have a related web page, but the list itself is
not "on the web". The web is not the Internet, even though it may be
the most highly visible portion of the Internet, and the increasing
use of the term "the web" to refer to anything and everything on the
Internet simply makes our job harder. Try working your site's Help
Desk for a day, taking calls from users who report that they cannot
read their email, open the spreadsheets they created yesterday, or
reach their favorite web sites, when the real problem is that their
computers won't boot, and you will understand why proper usage of
technical terminology is essential for effective communication in a
technical environment.

--
Paul Russell
Senior Systems Administrator
University of Notre Dame