On Mon, 12 Oct 1998, Gabriel Goldberg wrote: > I'm always amazed when I make the point about LISTSERV being a > trademarked product name, not a generic term for anything, and people > argue about that not being true, or it not mattering, or my being a > nit-picker. ("Don't nit-pick" was response on a writers' list, where I > expected more respect for accuracy and intellectual property rights.) When I correct people by pointing out that LISTSERV is a trademark, they typically respond by rolling their eyes and saying "Who the hell cares" (or words to that effect). It is much more effective to explain that LISTSERV is a specific piece of software used to run mailing lists, and that calling a list a "listserv" is confusing the software with what the software does. Occasionally I hear people refer to the web, or the Internet in general, as "Netscape." When I hear this, I know I'm talking to someone whose understanding of the Internet is very limited. I have the same reaction when I hear "listserv" used generically. The term betrays a superficial understanding of how mailing lists function. As for people on a writers' list saying "don't nit-pick," I suspect it's because people don't like to be corrected. steve ======================================== H. Stephen Wright Northern Illinois University [log in to unmask] http://libws66.lib.niu.edu/hswright.html ========================================