Mark A. Meggs wrote:

> On Mon, 18 Aug 2008 22:55:18 -0700, Blinky the Shark
> > wrote:
>
>>Don wrote:
>>
>>> Blinky the Shark wrote:
>>>
>>>>
>>>> And to come full circle with naming conventions, calling all soda "Coke"
>>>> is like calling all pie "Moon Pie". "Gimme a Moon Pie." "Sure, Honey --
>>>> what kind of Moon Pie? Apple, cherry, peach, pecan, pumpkin...?" In a
>>>> word: st00pid.
>>>>
>>>>
>>> Wake up call, different isn't stupid.
>>
>>Different isn't. But including that kind of conflict (root beer = Coke)
>>is. I'm quite awake, thank you.
>
> You continue to display your ingorance of things Southern.
>
> It isn't Coke - it's coke! It's the generic term in certain parts of

Yes, I'm sure y'all pronounce "Coke" with a lower case "c".

> the South (and possibly of a certain time) for any carbonated,
> sweetened drink. If there's a need to be more specific, the brand or
> flavor can be mentioned. The namesake product of the Coca-Cola
> Company is Co' Cola (as George already mentioned)

Well, it's really not, see.

> That you don't like like it doesn't do away with the fact that that's
> how it is. Calling people stupid is just trolling or flame-bait.

In this case, it's recognition of a stupid practice.

> If your have ever used the word "aspirin", you are guilty too. A
> brand name that became so popular that it entered the language as a
> generic term for all such products (and an lesson for companies like
> Xerox in losing control of a brand name).

I'm familiar with the origins of the word "aspirin". When Coke appears in
general and legitimate dictionaries as a synonym for "any soft drink", I
may feel different about is usage.

When, like "aspirin" (now a label used by other companies), "Coke" appears
as a true class name on containers of other flavors of soft drinks ("New!
Fruitier! 7-Up Coke!"), I will feel different about its usage. In the
meantime, the analogy isn't accurate.

The genericized "xerox"/"xerography" refers to *the same process* that
Xerox machines used/use. There's a difference between that and applying
it to other things one can do with paper (watercolor, offset print, draw
on with charcoals or pastels...), as with the case of describing non-Coke
drinks as Coke. If you wish to believe that "coking" is a catchall term
for *making soft drinks*, to try to justify your analogy, I'll remind you
that coking doesn't involve soft drinks at all.

But we are trying to discuss this at different levels. I'd rather look
closely at the issue and you'd rather just look at your reflection on its
surface. So I'm out here. HAND.


--
Blinky
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