On Wed, 8 Aug 2007 23:31:08 +0200 Dominik Vogt <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> On Wed, Aug 08, 2007 at 09:45:12PM +0100, Thomas Adam wrote: > > On 08/08/07, Dan Espen <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > "Dominik Vogt" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: > > > > > The standard convention is to spell acronyms in capitals. > > > > > > > > I never thought of fvwm as an acronym. > > > > > > If we say it's not an acronym then it's not. > > > > Sure. Whilst we're there we could also that that whilst we don't need > > full stops, we won't use them either. That might seem facetious, but > > it's not meant to be. :P > > > > > In English, normally proper names are capitalized, > > > like Fvwm, put product names are free to do whatever they > > > like, for example, "iMac". > > > > Yes, but on this occasion, FVWM *stands* for something -- its name > > *is* the product name which means correct capitalisation of the > > acronym. > > Yes, and laser also stands for something and has become so > familiar that almost nobody writes it LASER (or knows what the > letters stand for). So what? > I am not going into the discussion, it is not a thing I am willing to fight for, I just wanted to make a small comment. The fact that 'laser' is written in lower case is not because it is a lower case acronym, but because of the evolution of the language. New words are created each day. By the day the first LASER device was created, there were no word to name that thingy, and that is why it was named with an acronym: 'LASER'. But language evolved, and a new word was created: 'laser'. So, that argument above is pretty much pointless. Nowadays, 'laser' (lower case) is a word, and no longer an acronym, you can look at the dictionary. Of course, the acronym 'LASER' does exists still. But 'laser', is a word, with a meaning, regardless of its etymology or origin. It is a noun, not an acronym. Any dictionary will tell you the same. That is not the case for 'fvwm', so, the two cases are not comparable. Just my .02 Regards everyone :) -- Jesús Guerrero <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
