Yes, but what about Google? I think we are destined to follow in their steps.
Wikipedia is currently a unique service and I doubt others will spring
up (well, they already have, but I doubt they'll ever be very big).
When you google something, it means you went to
google.com and
searched for it using the Google search engine.
And if we do start to go the way of Kleenex or Xerox, it won't be
Collins' fault. Collins isn't responsible for language change, they
are just trying to document it.
Mark
On Sat, 1 Jan 2005 17:10:56 -0800 (PST), Rich Holton
<rich_holton(a)yahoo.com> wrote:
--- Mark Williamson <node.ue(a)gmail.com> wrote:
Why not? Will it suddenly become 'uncool'
to be a Wikipedian once the
word enters public usage?
It's a question of trade mark protection. Kleenex is a trademark, but
now people often use it to refer to any facial tissue. Same thing for
Xerox (Can I make a xerox of that?), and several others I can't think
of at the moment. If we don't take steps to protect our trademark, then
we can lose it.
We are not a wikipedia. We are _the Wikipedia_.
I would love for the name Wikipedia to be on everyone's tongue. But
only as a brand name, _the_ Wikipedia, referring to one specific (set
of) on-line encyclopedia(s). Not as a generic term for any
encyclopedia-type on-line resource using wiki software.
If what Collins is doing does not jeopardize our trademark, great! But
we need to watch to make sure.
-Rich Holton (en.wikipedia:User:Rholton)
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