tomr@ashtate (Tom Rombouts) (01/04/91)
As a somewhat casual USENET follower, I can not pretend to be aware of the years of hackerdom history that have gone into the various "jargon" files that are floating around. HOWEVER, after catching up on comp.misc it seems that about every third post is some sort of debate/flame relating to these collections, culminating in the recent "Open Letter to the ITS Community." I now half expect to open ComputerWorld and see that lawsuits and subpoenas are being served by attorneys retained by each side! It is my experience that many technical people (including myself at times :-) ) are egotistical and somewhat know-it-all-ish. [Note: most of the truly great (IMHO) people I have met are acutely aware of their own limitations.] And maybe it is understandable that some people have been greatly hurt or somehow insulted by the way their favorite OS/language/whatever has been described in a jargon file. Others may feel that their efforts are being stolen, I don't know. Anyway, to end this ramble, I feel I have learned a tremendous amount from the two jargon files I have recently read. I think it would be terrible if wider distribution of this material were hindered by quibbling and infighting. If there is an old ITS JARGON.TXT, let's post it. If there is an "original" jargon file, let's post it, too. If others develop more specialized jargon or history files in the future, let's post them, too. I personally do not see what all the fuss is about. (If, like so many things in American society, the bottom line is money, my acquaintance with several published CS authors tells me that no one is going to get rich from jargon being published in book form.) Trying to calm things down.... Tom Rombouts Torrance Techie tomr@ashtate.A-T.com V:(213)538-7108