On Fri, 01 Oct 2010 08:49:42 -0700, sf > wrote:

>On Fri, 01 Oct 2010 15:43:00 +0200, jack > wrote:
>
>> ITU (like IT) added yet another meaning to an existing word (according to
>> M-W 'First known use of directory: 15th century' - well before 1865). And
>> I'm fairly sure that ITU usage pre-dates IT usage anyway.
>>
>> Still, 'directory' is technically more correct (in most filesystems, the
>> directory only contains a pointer to where a file is stored or where to
>> find that information, it doesn't store the file itself). Most users don't
>> get that concept, nor do they need to for their daily tasks. That is why
>> things like 'folder' or 'library' started gaining traction.
>
>Users care how they work, not what they are called. Call them Fred if
>you want to.

As S. I. Hayakawa said "The word is not the thing."
http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/S._I._Hayakawa