Brilliant responses from everyone on the problems of terminology and computer geeks. My favourite was the one recommending use of a cattle prod on IT people, and I will requisition one immediately.
On a serious level, though, I suspect it is too late for us to make our objections matter. I've been trundling around to seminars given by electronic storage manufacturers and they ALL use the term "archiving" when they mean semi-current storage. Also have talked to an IT/Internet Law Prof (who really DOES know his stuff) who also uses the term "archiving" to mean the same - so I guess that means that the academic world of IT teaching now thinks that is what it means and uses it accordingly, which means all the students now think that's what it means.....
Either the archival heavies (PRO, SOA) are going to make a concerted effort versus IT heavies or we are going to HAVE to amend our own terminology. It's fairly pointless for us isolated r/m or archival people to bleat at our own IT lot - since when did they ever listen to us anyway? And in the meantime practically everyone in my organisation is utterly confused about what archiving and archives actually are (until OF COURSE they come on one of my training sessions...)
Clare Cowling
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