Nomenclature (was: NEXT Color Printer find - test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

2 Jan 2002

...
 You are still missing the point.... 
No, I'm really not... see below

...
 My complant, yet again, is using the term
'Centronics port' for a SCSI 
interface using a 50 pin Blue Ribbon connector. Because that interface 
has little in common with the parallel printer interface mentioned above. 
And when this SCSI port is on a printer it is very misleading to call it 
a Centronics interface. 
Sorry, Tony, I was never trying to argue this point. I was only trying to 
point out the irony of using a misnomer to fight a misnomer.... 
regardless of the validity of either one... I had just found the idea 
funny.

I personally don't disagree with trying to correct names... nor do I 
disagree with calling things by their "common" name, nor do I disagree 
with calling things by their WRONG names. As long as the item in question 
can be successfully communicated... which can sometimes, such as with the 
miscalling a SCSI-1 "Blue Ribbon" connector, a Centronics port, cause 
confusion. I understood what was meant, but others, more technically 
savvy than I may have been confused (in part because to me, a connector 
similar to that found on a printer, but that contains 50 pins is used for 
one of two things, SCSI-1, or 25 pair phone cable, and since this was a 
printer, I ruled out phone cable). To people like yourself, who have more 
knowledge than I can ever hope to, probably know of dozens more uses, and 
thus find it a problem to call it the wrong thing.

...
 But this list is made up (at least in part) of
technical people for whom 
it _does_ matter whether an interface is a parallel printer port or a 
SCSI interface. It may not matter to the average user (provided both 
machine and printer have the same interface and mating connectors), but 
it certainly matters to people here who want to use the printer with 
other machines, who want to repair or modify it, and so on. 
Agreed (see above). For those that this kind of thing can mean something 
totally different than what was intended, it matters a great deal (like 
my tape vs film situation... if I had ever told a crew, "lets go down to 
the courthouse and shoot some film... get a crew together", I would have 
been in for a rude surprise when they showed up with a 32mm camera and 
DAT deck... when what I wanted was 2 guys and a BetaCam outfit).

But like I said, my intent was never to argue this point at all... it was 
simply to point out the humor in the one responder's comments regarding a 
Crescent wrench, when discussing calling things by their correct name. 
See, I took it along the lines of them saying "Don't call it a Centronics 
Port, because if you do again, I am going to smack you with my Craftsman 
Brand Crescent Wrench". Now granted, that isn't what they said, but maybe 
now some of the irony I originally saw will come thru. They are saying 
don't call something by the wrong name, because if you do I will hit you 
with something that I am calling by the wrong name. I found it funny... I 
guess I am more easily amused than some others on the list (and yes, I am 
fascinated by shiny objects)

-chris

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