[WikiEN-l] Re: Wikipedia in the news

[Nikola Smolenski]

On Sunday 25 April 2004 00:12, Timwi wrote:
> Steve Cooney wrote:
> > Wikipedia just might have more power as a
> > non-proprietary generic term...  Some may call it
> > "tissue" but a lot of us just call it "kleenex" -
> > wether we know how to spell it or not.
>
> We do not want Wikipedia to become an English word describing wiki
> encyclopedias in general. Contrary to popular belief, becoming an actual
> word (like Kleenex, Xerox, and uncountably many more) is bad for the
> popularity of the original.
>
> If "wikipedia" were to become a word, people would (unconsciously)
> think: "Hm... Wikinfo is a wikipedia, Disinfopedia is a wikipedia, and
> OpenFacts is also a wikipedia." The word "Wikipedia" would lose its
> association with a particular, concrete thing.

I know someone who calls all Wikis wikipedias :)