Books as Folders? 1

[thekl0wn]

Has anyone else ever heard of file folders called books? Or more specifically, referring to a file folder as a book?

This past weekend, I was teaching a friend how to use his CD player, which is MP3/WMA-compatible, and he asked how to switch books. There were others around who said that's how they referred to folders as well, and couldn't believe I had never heard that before. (keep in mind, they were mainly farmers and masons)

 

[traingamer]

I've never heard of that.

Greg
"Personally, I am always ready to learn, although I do not always like being taught." - Winston Churchill

 

[LNBruno]

ditto

< M!ke >
Acupuncture Development: a jab well done.

 

[KenCunningham]

Folders? Don't you mean directories? Perhaps they're confusing (or using in the same manner) book and directory?

I want to be good, is that not enough?

 

[flapeyre]

The folder icon does look like a little "book".

Personally, I prefer detail view.

Tibi gratias agimus quod nihil fumas.

 

[RodKnowlton]

Are all of the people that called them books part of a community that's isolated in some fashion, with regard to talking about computers?

I've run into this phenomenon before and have chosen to call it a "linguistic Galapagos".

A few years ago, my department merged with another, smaller, department that had been working in relative isolation as part of another subsidiary of our parent company.

Early systems administration conversations were a bit confusing, because the new group referred to shell scripts as, simply, shells (which is what we, and most people, would call the program that runs the shell script).

Typical phone call:

me: I need you to open a shell
them: ok
me: now type <some command>
them: ok
me: what's the output?
them: what do you mean? I'm editing a shell.


Still elevates my blood pressure.

- Rod



IBM Certified Advanced Technical Expert pSeries and AIX 5L
CompTIA Linux+
CompTIA Security+

A Simple Code for Posting on the Web

 

[thekl0wn]

I love the term, "linguistic Galapagos". Yes, the people referring to them as books are from a bit sheltered society, but they've been around computers plenty, or at least enough to know what a folder/directory is. They were giving me a hard time because I corrected them on calling the directories books, but like I told them, it would be the same as me coming to their farms, and talking about shelling corn with that big chainsaw, when I'm actually referring to a combine. Everyone on the farm would laugh their butts off out how stupid I am for saying that.

 

[LNBruno]

shelling corn

You mean "shucking corn," don't you?

< M!ke >
Acupuncture Development: a jab well done.

 

[thekl0wn]

You mean "shucking corn," don't you?

No, I mean shelling corn. Shucking corn is done by hand. Shelling is done with large machinery. It may be a regional language thing, like dinner as lunch versus supper.

 

[RodKnowlton]

When I'm shelling, I use Korn.

- Rod


IBM Certified Advanced Technical Expert pSeries and AIX 5L
CompTIA Linux+
CompTIA Security+

A Simple Code for Posting on the Web

 

[MeGustaXL]

When I'm shelling, I call on the Artillery !

Chris

Why is 'abbreviation' such a long word?
- Stephen Wright

 

[LNBruno]

Shucks, thekl0wn! I reckon yur rite! LOL

< M!ke >
Acupuncture Development: a jab well done.

 

[Grenage]

Aye, it's not uncommon. Many car MP3 players have 'folder' buttons which allow you to switch between directories. The one in my car does, and the manual even refers to them as folders.

Carlsberg don't run I.T. departments, but if they did they'd probably be more fun.

 

[SantaMufasa]

Rod, what a great term..."linguistic Galapagos". Please hava

for your colourful addition to my vocabulary.

I encountered such a situation one time when I went to an organization where they kept saying that they needed to "six a file". In fact, one person came up to me and said that they couldn't "six" their file and wondered if I could help them.

I said, "Well, show me how you are currently trying to 'six' your file."

The fellow sat at the keyboard and enter the command:

vi my_file

I had a difficult time not rolling on the floor laughing so hard that I would have scared the fellow to death.

Mufasa
(aka Dave of Sandy, Utah, USA)
[I provide low-cost, remote Database Administration services: www.dasages.com]

 

[mjldba]

santa, reminds me of a story.

Lady goes into an auto parts store and tells the guy at the counter that she needs a 710 cap. Guy does not know what she's referring to but she insists that her husband's car has a 710 cap (similar car) and her 710 cap is missing and there's oil all over the engine.

She wanted an OIL cap.

 

[ESquared]

I have long thought that knowing when one doesn't know is a large part of intelligence, sometimes more important than knowing lots of stuff. How will you ever correct errors if you don't have any self-regulator that tells you when to stop and rethink because something doesn't seem right?

Cum catapultae proscriptae erunt tum soli proscript catapultas habebunt.

 

[LNBruno]

...if you don't have any self-regulator that tells you when to stop and rethink because something doesn't seem right?

I don't have to worry about that one. I'm married.

< M!ke >
Acupuncture Development: a jab well done.

 

[RodKnowlton]

Thanks, Santa.

I've always wanted to coin a term.

Of course, if it doesn't spread outside this forum, then I've coined it within the very thing it describes!

Oh, the ironic recursion.

- Rod



IBM Certified Advanced Technical Expert pSeries and AIX 5L
CompTIA Linux+
CompTIA Security+

A Simple Code for Posting on the Web

 

[ESquared]

Linguistic Galapagos on the web

Cum catapultae proscriptae erunt tum soli proscript catapultas habebunt.

 

[RodKnowlton]

I guess there really is nothing new under the sun.

Only 26 hits on Google for the exact phrase, though, so at least I didn't "coin" a widely used term.