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jonathan95
Delta Prime
Joined: 29 Oct 2002
Posts: 1544
Location: UK Newcastle
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 Fri Jul 29, 2005 5:42 am Online users in U.S. don't know Internet lingo |
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| Quote: | Study: Online users in U.S. don't know Internet lingo
Phishing, podcasting and RSS feeds are unfamiliar to many Web surfers
News Story by Linda Rosencrance
JULY 22, 2005 (COMPUTERWORLD) - The average American Internet user doesn�t know the meaning of some of the hottest new online terms, according to a study (download PDF) released this month by the Pew Internet & American Life Project.
While users know the definitions of some common Internet terms such as firewall and spam, they often don�t know the meanings of terms like podcasting and RSS feeds, according to the survey, which was conducted between May 4 and June 7. During this period, researchers contacted 2,001 adults in the U.S.
And 70% of users have never heard of phishing or say they aren�t really sure what it means. Phishing refers to unsolicited e-mails that attempt to snare an Internet user�s sensitive information, such as credit card numbers, by pretending to be a trustworthy person on business.
Eighty-seven percent of users aren�t familiar with podcasting, whereby audio files are downloaded from Web sites onto MP3 players, such as Apple Computer Inc.�s iPods, and played at the convenience of users.
Some 91% of users surveyed are unfamiliar with the term �RSS feed,� which is a file format that allows syndication of Web content, including blog postings, to those who have subscribed to the material. RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication.
Men who spend time online are more likely than women to be aware of these terms, while people with college degrees are more aware than those with high school diplomas.
In addition, people who go online frequently are more familiar with these terms than users who spend less time surfing the Web. And older internet users are less likely than younger ones to understand the meanings of these terms, the Pew research found. |
source
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Theresa
Lux Mihi Deus
Joined: 17 Jun 2001
Posts: 27256
Location: United States of America
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| Fri Jul 29, 2005 6:36 pm |
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IMO, this is good news, 
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Superman
Fleet Admiral
Joined: 06 Dec 2003
Posts: 10220
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| Fri Jul 29, 2005 6:39 pm |
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Ditto. It's time we all started talking properly again. I mean, I dislike all this text talk you see around (even in newspapers). Let's talk ENGLISH again. Proper ENGLISH.
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Hitchhiker
Rear Admiral
Joined: 11 Aug 2004
Posts: 3514
Location: Ontario, Canada
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| Fri Jul 29, 2005 7:32 pm |
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| Superman wrote: | | Ditto. It's time we all started talking properly again. I mean, I dislike all this text talk you see around (even in newspapers). Let's talk ENGLISH again. Proper ENGLISH. |
It depends what you mean by "proper English," however. The language itself is in a constant state of flux.
I agree that l33t chatspeak such as "OMG LOLZ!!111ONEONEELEVENTY!111" is annoying and people using it must be shot on sight.
Terms such as "podcasting" and "RSS" are useful. I don't know about you, but I'd much rather use the term "RSS" than "Really Simple Syndication" over and over again. It's just as good as using "car" for "automobile" or "fan" for "fanatic." "Podcasting" is a new word, which means "broadcasting streaming media content from an Apple iPod."
As technology increases and new things are developed, new words like podcasting are inevitable--again, I would prefer to say "podcasting," rather than "broadcast it over the Internet to iPods." 
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Kyle Reese
Cadet Gunnery Sergeant
Joined: 21 Apr 2003
Posts: 5672
Location: The United States of America
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| Fri Jul 29, 2005 9:45 pm |
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I don't know a lot of that stuff either, but I really hate l33t, whatever it means. The only thing I hate more is that gangster/rapper stuff. It's all just stupid. I prefer to just speak regular english.
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madlilnerd
Duchess of Dancemat
Joined: 03 Aug 2004
Posts: 5885
Location: Slough, England
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| Sat Jul 30, 2005 5:25 am |
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I despise txt speak in emails. It's a frigging email! You have a keyboard and an unlimited number of characters and you're not getting charged 10p for it, so for God's sake, type out your words!
Urgh, this came from one of my friends:
| Quote: | that sounds lyk good news...eva plannin 2 meet u p wid me in hols?we can go 4 walks and stuf and jus cht coz i love our chats  i tink the 'its tght that counts' counts...lol hand made presents are cool!i havnt been up2 much actualli jus catchin up on sum sleep and cleanin de house...nutin els 2 do relli...startin 2 miss sum ppl ...not all tho... glad 2 b away 4rm sum of those ppl hu jus chnged in a clik of a finga (u no hu im chttin about) but sum ppl i wna c agen alredy...im weird i no. newayz tke cre ruth hope 2 cht 2 u sooon xxxx |
And it's not like she's a retard who doesn't understand English. She's in my group for English. Her predicted GCSE grade is A.
but stuff like this:
| Quote: | | heyyy ruth u alrright? didnt relli get 2 say a propa bye 2 u on thurs...but i gess ill b seeing u during hols.hav a good 6weeks hol jus wna say missin u n take care of urself!!hav fun!!!luv ya loadzzz xxxx |
Makes me want to drown myself in the toilet.
Anyway... back on topic. Why would I need to know what "podcasting" is when I don't have an Ipod and I don't plan to get one? All the people I know (in person) with Ipods are spoilt brats who go around comparing their pods to see if they've got "cool" songs on.
An adult is someone over the age of 18, yes? So they could have surveyed people who have had a computer for about 5% of their life. Some old people aren't all that great with computer terms, because computers haven't been around for most of their lifetime.
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Theresa
Lux Mihi Deus
Joined: 17 Jun 2001
Posts: 27256
Location: United States of America
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| Sat Jul 30, 2005 6:49 am |
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Using acronyms, or simply things like, LOL, or IMO is one thing, but phishing? Does it really kill people to take the few extra milliseconds? Besides, the definitions of lingo and shorthand are different.
-------signature-------
Some of us fall by the wayside
And some of us soar to the stars
And some of us sail through our troubles
And some have to live with our scars
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Dirt
Exercise Boy
Joined: 19 May 2003
Posts: 2086
Location: a tree
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| Thu Aug 04, 2005 4:05 pm |
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Just talk hood, works for me 
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Leo Wyatt
Sweetest Angel
Joined: 25 Feb 2004
Posts: 19045
Location: Investigating A Crime Scene. What did Quark do this time?
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| Thu Aug 04, 2005 4:23 pm |
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You know it wouldn't hurt to help the ones who don't know the stuff because some people do not know and may want to know. Maybe they don't how to get the info. It does not take a sec to help someone out who you talk to online, instead of complaining on how they don't know. I may be the only one who thinks this but oh well.
Not all people are the same as we are. If I am talking to someone online, and if they don't know LOL, or brb, I take the time out to help. Guess everybody not like me. I even don't know some. I know most but not all. But ones I do know, I try to help out. Maybe I am reading this all wrong, if I am I apologize.
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tycoon64
Cat Specialist
Joined: 27 Jul 2005
Posts: 1128
Location: Lost where I can never be found
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| Tue Aug 09, 2005 8:47 am |
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Its always funny when it comes to computers. The older generation has a hard time using them but with lingo that they do not understand that makes it even harder for them to understand what is going on with the computer. My Grandma has been trying to use a computer and has ran in to words and abreveations that she did not know. That got her irritated until I helped her get a place where she can look these words up. Now she has less trouble but she still gets confused now and then. I say that we the younger generation need to help the older population understand this lingo.
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Jeremy
J's Guy
Joined: 03 Oct 2002
Posts: 7823
Location: Aberdeen, Scotland
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| Tue Aug 09, 2005 10:19 am |
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Yeh, I know a number of older people that phone me, or someone else young that knows about compters up when they have a problem. It's harder for them as they weren't growing up with them, and in some ways it is pretty complicated.
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tycoon64
Cat Specialist
Joined: 27 Jul 2005
Posts: 1128
Location: Lost where I can never be found
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| Tue Aug 09, 2005 10:27 am |
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Very true. I think only the generations that were born in the comp era will not have trouble. I feel sorry for the rest.
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