TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
>
> Am I the only person who gets irritated when initalisms are
incorrectly
> described as acronyms? The distinction is quite obvious and simple and
> yet time after time I see lists of "acronyms" that are initialisms and
> this from technical communicators. The latest example I have just seen
> is on the last page of April 06 Intercom magazine.
>
> Just a Friday rant!
>
I used to get all bent out of shape about stuff like that, but these
days I could care less if someone calls both NASA and MCI "acronyms."
Language changes, and while I resist the corruption and twisting and
warping of meanings of some words, there are others I am less concerned
about. To me, the distinction between "initial letters of words that
form a new word" and "initial letters of words sounded out individually"
is insignificant enough that wasting my time worrying about it makes me
feel like I have way, way, way too much time on my hands.
Of course this is only my opinion--there are probably some things I'm
concerned about that other people couldn't be bothered to consider. ;-)
CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: This e-mail may contain information that is privileged, confidential or otherwise protected from disclosure. If you are not the intended recipient of this e-mail, please notify the sender immediately by return e-mail, purge it and do not disseminate or copy it.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
WebWorks ePublisher Pro for Word features support for every major Help
format plus PDF, HTML and more. Flexible, precise, and efficient content
delivery. Try it today!. http://www.webworks.com/techwr-l
