Re: Quick Terminology Poll

I'm always struggling with terminology issues and love this debate! When I'm wearing my editor hat with clients (in a setting where I have a hope of controlling vocabulary to a certain extent) I try to influence them toward using terms I think are "best" (technically precise, lacking confusion with other, similar terms).

But "those guys out there" are always going to "muck it up" in some way. We all come from different backgrounds and usually belive that the way we use terms are "right."

I've found that it's often helpful to hit terminology confusion head-on by first introducing and defining the term I'm going to use, and then bringing up the potential confusion areas and eliminating them.

Usage examples always help. I try to include them in both glossaries and even in ad hoc definitions. 

Adjectives and explanatory text also help. For example, "You might think of a "template" as . . . but we use it only to . . ." Or, "We use "content" to mean only structured content that is controlled by our content management system, but the word "content" is often used in a generic sense to mean almost any kind of text or even text and graphics." Or, "We use the term "structured content" to mean content in our CM system, and "unstructured content" for the text appearing on web pages that comes from other sources."

Even after using these techniques for years, I still think of them as messy, and I wish there were a better way to force "enlightenment" on an "unenlightened world." Have any of you had better luck than I have at just writing a definition and making it stick?

All that said, I always start with a trusted glossary (if one exists), so I second Bob's suggestion of starting with the CM glossary on our own website -- it's been forged during many heated debates!

So . . . what is everyone's favorite GENERIC term for "content"? I don't like it much, because it's mostly associated with web content, and a lot of people who deal mostly with print don't relate to it at all. I also don't like "text," because that's often used to differentiate "text" from "graphics." What's the broadest term for "the stuff we're all talking about"? 
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Cheers, Anna 

Anna van Raaphorst, President 
VR Communications, Inc. 
www.vrcommunications.com 
25 Rio Robles East Unit 219 
San Jose, CA 95134-1633 
Office: 408-321-9551 
Mobile: 408-832-4212