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Subject:Re: upload / download From:Karen Kay <karenk -at- NETCOM -dot- COM> Date:Tue, 20 Dec 1994 10:49:57 -0800
Jo Davidsmeyer said:
> I'm fairly new to this list, so forgive me if this subject has been
> discussed before. Is there any industry-standard for the use of the
> words "upload" and "download"?
I always understood that the 'up' and 'down' derive from the relative
sizes of the machine; but that's an old-fashioned way to look at it,
given the realities of computers today. Other than that historical
artifact, I don't see much incompatible in your definitions.
> Too late now to change industry jargon, but
> wouldn't it have been simpler to use "transmit" and "receive" to describe
> these actions?
At the time that the terms originated, there was no reason to think
that everyone would be 'transmitting' and 'receiving' all over the
place. That's sorta where 'client-server' technology came in--and that
works nicely for defining the hierarchy.
