--- Nicholas Bodley <nbodley@...> wrote:

>
> On Tue, 19 Apr 2005 15:31:51 -0400, Richard
> Wordingham
> <richard.wordingham@...> wrote:
>
> > 'Email program' is too imprecise for some - it
> > could refer to either the client program (which is
> > serving the human client) or the server
> > programs trying to dispatch, receive and screen
> > e-mails.
>
> Indeed. While I don't know of specific instances,
> it's more than likely that a few computer users have
> set up a home machine as an e-mail server, or to
> include such a function.
>
> I've seen some strong hints that the definitions of
> client and server seem backwards -- reversed -- in
> the X Window System, which is widely used for
> Unix and derivatives (loosely speaking), including
> Linux.

Yes there is a good explanation of why the terminology
seems backwards in the case of X - but I can't recall
it even though I'm a software engineer and have read
the explanation several times.

Even for email the jargon is more complex. Especially
for those who have been using email on Unix systems
since the 1970s, even "email client" is not precise
enough and they prefer the term "email user agent"!

Jargon aside, I would usually use "email program" even
with my software engineer friends unless we were
talking about some kind of email software where more
precision was needed.

Andrew Dunbar.

> --
> Nicholas Bodley /*|*\ Waltham, Mass. (Not "MA")
> The curious hermit -- autodidact and polymath
> If you're determined to be afraid, choose wisely
> what to be afraid of.
>
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