Date:  Sun, 21 Apr 1996 11:52:12 -0500

From:  Natalie Maynor <maynor[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]RA.MSSTATE.EDU>

Subject: Re: Humanistic inquiry



> is a member. Anybody can subscribe to the hereunderdescribed list without

> further ado. But if anyone would like to act as ADS' "designated subscriber,"

> please let me know. - Allan Metcalf <AAllan[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]aol.com>



Surely we have some ADS members who are already subscribers. Humanist

was the very first list I subscribed to back in the olden days -- on the

particular olden day when I got my first modem (having just gotten my

first computer also, which I got largely because I had heard Jeutonne

Brewer talking about Bitnet at a SECOL meeting). But enough reminiscing.

Back to the point. Although I'm still a subscriber to Humanist, I don't

think I'd be a very good "designated subscriber" since I've had it set to

'nomail' for years (which translated into 'mail postpone' when Humanist

moved from listserv to listproc a few years ago). I stayed subscribed

because I liked being able to search the archives occasionally -- archives

that were for members only.



> --------------------------------------------

> How to subscribe to the Humanist, the listserv on computers and the

                    ^^^^^^^^

> humanities:



The linguist part of me really hates my prescriptive attitude toward the

term "listserv," but I can't help it. The other part of me wants to

scream every time I see this kind of usage of it: "YOU MEAN *LIST*, NOT

LISTSERV!" I guess one reason I hate the use of "listserv" to mean "list"

so much is from my point of view as listowner of several lists. If people

think that "listserv" means "list," instructions like "send the command

to the listserv" often result in misdirected clutter on lists. I guess

Eric Thomas wants to scream even louder, especially when people are

calling listproc or majordomo lists "listservs." Or maybe, unlike Xerox

and Coca-Cola, he feels flattered instead -- flattered that his program,

now his private company, is being used as a generic word, albeit with a

shift in meaning.

  --Natalie (maynor[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]ra.msstate.edu)