On Mon 02 Jan 2012, Paul Eggert wrote:
> Attached is a proposed Gnulib patch to fix some occurrences of
> the "win" terminology problem.
>
> It mostly just substitutes "Woe32" for "Win32", except that for
> "Win32 API" it substitutes "Windows API". The Microsoft overview of the API
> <http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa383723.aspx> says,
> "Note that this was formerly called the Win32 API. The name
> Windows API more accurately reflects its roots in 16-bit Windows
> and its support on 64-bit Windows."
This is childish and silly. The API is called Win32, and Microsoft
thenmselves rarely refer to it as the "Windows API" (a less specific
term in any case).
Using the term "win32" does not connote winning or losing to any but the
most paranoid. Replacing proprietary software with free software is done
by being better: that includes being courteous, and not using derogatory
language. The term "woe32" is insulting rather than descriptive, and
users expect higher standards than that.
AndyM
