Re[2]: PC

["Walker, Arlen P" <Arlen -dot- P -dot- Walker -at- JCI -dot- COM>]

Here's the approximate course these words seem to take:

1) Word is acceptable.
2) Bigoted people use the word as a derogatory term
3) Derogatory usage comes into the majority consciousness (though not
necessarily majority usage)
4) People wishing to avoid being linked with bigots invent new usage
5) New usage becomes acceptable

repeat as often as necessary.

It's part of the flux of language. It wasn't that long ago the word
"pretty" was considered vulgar, and "gay" meant extremely happy and
carefree. Sometimes it's hard to tell the proper term without a program.
But that's why we earn the Big Bucks, right?

BTW (off subject but on-topic) I've just run into a great example of how
one writer's attempt to avoid jargon resulted in confusion. The Filemaker
Pro manual made a reference to computers "in the same TCP/IP area." The
technical term being avoided here was "subnet." Unfortunately, anyone who
knew enough to be know whether a particular machine was "in the same TCP/IP
area" would know the term for this was "subnet," and in fact the manual
caused some confusion among the engineers here who first read it, as they
puzzled over why the geographical distance between two computers would
matter.


Have fun,
Arlen
Chief Managing Director In Charge, Department of Redundancy Department
DNRC 224

Arlen -dot- P -dot- Walker -at- JCI -dot- Com
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