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