On Sunday, July 7, 2002, at 10:28 , Jim wrote:
> I've seen the term "virii" used now and then on these lists, and as a > professional virologist (of the biological variety), I feel I must > speak up. The plural of "virus" is "viruses". Nowhere do we use the > term "virii". Virology is rather at the forefront of modern > biological nomenclature, where we prefer to use meaningful, > accessable terminology, and eschew the latin binomial system as > inappropriate to our purposes (while not disputing its usefulness in > other biological kingdoms). As a result, we do not try to latinize > the nomenclature, preferring to keep it simple. The "H" in "HIV" > stands for "Human", not "Homo sapiens" Immunodeficiency Virus. > > I recognize that computer engineers and programmers are merely using > the term "virus" as a metaphor for these troublesome programs, and > are free to name them what they will. But since I must believe that > engineers and programmers would rather employ accurate metaphor over > pretentious satire in their vernacular, I humbly suggest that the > term "virii" be dropped. No, we simply don't share your fractionalist attitude towards the rest of the biologist community. KeS -- G-Books is sponsored by <http://lowendmac.com/> and... Small Dog Electronics http://www.smalldog.com | Refurbished Drives | -- Check our web site for refurbished PowerBooks | & CDRWs on Sale! | Support Low End Mac <http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html> G-Books list info: <http://lowendmac.com/lists/g-books.html> --> AOL users, remove "mailto:"; Send list messages to: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To unsubscribe, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> For digest mode, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subscription questions: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Archive: <http://www.mail-archive.com/g-books%40mail.maclaunch.com/> Using a Mac? Free email & more at Applelinks! http://www.applelinks.com
