Vaporpapers as slang term for ebooks and such?

taglines · 02-16-2010, 10:54 PM

A sometimes reader of this website, who has requested anonymity, and it's not me this time, my mind doesn't move in this direction very well but his does, and he has coined a very interesting word -- VAPORPAPERS -- As far as I can tell, given that the end of originality is always near in word-minting worlds, especially given the speed and bandwidth of the Internet, it appears at this moment in Internet Time that the newly-minted term VAPORPAPERS has not reached any of Google's spiders -- at least not in the sense that it has been coined.

Electronic print fans, especially green ones, might take umbrage at the coining of VAPORPAPERS, true. But you must admit, there's still no plan for the long-term preservation of e-book contents. Is there? If so, dish here.

And think about this too: The environmental and disposal costs of producing and recycling rapidly obsolescent e-readers is likely to be more serious than the well-established system of sustainable forests. The coiner of the word VAPORPAPERS asked me to ask anyone who knows......just what ARE the actual components (and future environmental impacts) of an iPad or a Kindle or nook?

Hamlet didn't carry a BlackBerry, for a very good reason. He had his own erasable tablet. Worked quite well for him then. Then came the print. Now comes the Digital Revolution. Ou va la France?

PS: I did not coin this word. A gentleman in distant land coined it the other day and asked me to post this thread just to garner reactions pro and con. I am not really sure what he is driving at, but I like all new words when they prod people into thinking. I am not sure I like the word or really understand what he meant. BTW, this man is NOT an enemy of the Digital Revolution, nor is he a sworn protector of Mr Paper; he is far smarter than this or that. But he asked me to post this for him, and I think it might be an interesting chat. I am just relaying an idea here ... to the board, since most people here have thought deeply about all this. Dish!

delphidb96 · 02-16-2010, 11:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by taglines

A sometimes reader of this website, who has requested anonymity, and it's not me this time, my mind doesn't move in this direction very well but his does, and he has coined a very interesting word -- VAPORPAPERS -- As far as I can tell, given that the end of originality is always near in word-minting worlds, especially given the speed and bandwidth of the Internet, it appears at this moment in Internet Time that the newly-minted term VAPORPAPERS has not reached any of Google's spiders -- at least not in the sense that it has been coined.

Electronic print fans, especially green ones, might take umbrage at the coining of VAPORPAPERS, true. But you must admit, there's still no plan for the long-term preservation of e-book contents. Is there? If so, dish here.

And think about this too: The environmental and disposal costs of producing and recycling rapidly obsolescent e-readers is likely to be more serious than the well-established system of sustainable forests. The coiner of the word VAPORPAPERS asked me to ask anyone who knows......just what ARE the actual components (and future environmental impacts) of an iPad or a Kindle or nook?

Hamlet didn't carry a BlackBerry, for a very good reason. He had his own erasable tablet. Worked quite well for him then. Then came the print. Now comes the Digital Revolution. Ou va la France?

PS: I did not coin this word. A gentleman in distant land coined it the other day and asked me to post this thread just to garner reactions pro and con. I am not really sure what he is driving at, but I like all new words when they prod people into thinking. I am not sure I like the word or really understand what he meant. BTW, this man is NOT an enemy of the Digital Revolution, nor is he a sworn protector of Mr Paper; he is far smarter than this or that. But he asked me to post this for him, and I think it might be an interesting chat. I am just relaying an idea here ... to the board, since most people here have thought deeply about all this. Dish!

This ("eco-friendliness") has been discussed to nauseun - if not death. I won't add to the misery.

That said, the reason Hamlet was not depicted using a Blackberry was NOT because he didn't need it - nosirree-bob. It was because the tech didn't exist!!! Who knows? Had Blackberries been available, he might have been a sexting fool and a tweeting addict! Might have come to a completely different fate.

Derek

desertgrandma · 02-16-2010, 11:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by taglines

A sometimes reader of this website, who has requested anonymity, and he has coined a very interesting word -- VAPORPAPERS --

That wouldn't be Dan Bloom, would it?

Guns4Hire · 02-17-2010, 01:30 AM

I think it sounds silly. Anytime in the past where vapor was used it usually mean't something that never showed up. Vaporware etc.

dadioflex · 02-17-2010, 02:09 AM

Edit.

ardeegee · 02-17-2010, 02:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by desertgrandma

That wouldn't be Dan Bloom, would it?

No, "taglines" IS Dan Bloom-- it is a sock puppet account that he set up to try to hide his identity after his first posts didn't go well for him (and at least a couple of times replied to himself, solidly sealing the fact that Dan Bloom is a liar, dishonest, and pushing an agenda.)

As for the term "vaporpaper", it is just as stupid and clueless as the rest of the junk Dan Bloom pushes. The prefix "vapor" already has a well-known (except for luddites) long-used meaning-- it means "something that has been promised, but never appears.) The term "vaporware" has been around since at least the 1980s:

http://news.google.com/archivesearch...=all&scoring=n

Anyone who knows jack shoot (read: not Dan Bloom and his "friend") would associate the prefix "vapor" in any tech-related compound word to be a new spin on the meaning of the word "vapor" already deeply entrenched with "vaporware" and thus would make absolutely no sense to them until it was explained to them-- then they would dismiss it.

LDBoblo · 02-17-2010, 04:31 AM

Another disadvantage to the name is the excessive syllable count with multiple plosives.

Katti's Cat · 02-17-2010, 04:34 AM

How silly of me - here I thought eBook was already the short version of electronic book. Didn't know we need to call it anything else.

taglines · 02-17-2010, 04:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LDBoblo

Another disadvantage to the name is the excessive syllable count with multiple plosives.

I agree LDB, the word is too long, four syllables, does not roll off the tongue and hard to pronounce as well. What about calling the place where all e-text resides in Internet space and time as the "vaporsphere", for better or for worse, and the main question is: can the ebooks and etexts be stored forever?

What happens if WW III breaks out or climate change turns the world into a Mad Max wasteland 500 years from now?

Where will the vaporsphere be then?

Are govts and institutions dealing with these issues now?

taglines · 02-17-2010, 04:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by delphidb96

This ("eco-friendliness") has been discussed to nauseun - if not death. I won't add to the misery.

That said, the reason Hamlet was not depicted using a Blackberry was NOT because he didn't need it - nosirree-bob. It was because the tech didn't exist!!! Who knows? Had Blackberries been available, he might have been a sexting fool and a tweeting addict! Might have come to a completely different fate.

Derek

You got a point there, delphidb96, well said. If BlackBerrys were around
then, maybe Shakespeare would have had to write a very different play!

Sweetpea · 02-17-2010, 04:54 AM

I thought we were talking about ebooks that were promised but still aren't here...

taglines · 02-17-2010, 04:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by desertgrandma

That wouldn't be Dan Bloom, would it?

Desertgrandma, no no, I assure you, 100 percent truth, the coiner of that word was not Dan Bloom. It was coined by a tech-savvy professor. He is on your side. He justed asked me to help with the PR to get the word out and get feedback pro and con. He will probably read these comments tomorrow when he wakes up.

But, no, this word was not coined by me. Really. I have stopped coining words. .

taglines · 02-17-2010, 05:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ardeegee

Anyone who knows jack shoot .....would associate the prefix "vapor" in any tech-related compound word to be a new spin on the meaning of the word "vapor" already deeply entrenched with "vaporware" and thus would make absolutely no sense to them until it was explained to them-- then they would dismiss it.

Darren, the dude who coined this word knows a lot more than I do about all this. I agree, the word he coined is a bit too long, 4 syllables, and not real easy to say, but I think he is trying to make a point about how we, or future gens, will store digital info in some kind vaporsphere, and what might happen if a global war breaks out and all electrical grids go down from war or climate chaos in distant future. He is actually someone who is deeply versed in the tech side of things. But you are right, this word might not stick. I told him the same. But I also said I would post the idea here and see what others might have to say. That's what forums are all about, right?

So far, the comments have all been very good, pro and con. And mostly con. I think the con arguments will persist. Still, the issue in the background is what is important. Let's discuss that.

As for paper storage, well, not very good, it doesn't last forever either. Books in libraries cannot last forever, and digital books are a better gamble. Still, it's a gamble, no? What are the risks? I think this is the issue here, not the word vaporpapers itself. Let's ignore the word and focus on the issue.

Ben Thornton · 02-17-2010, 05:18 AM

I don't understand the incentive for a new word. In time, I expect that "ebook" will evolve into "book", with the differentiation being required for old-style, physical books.

"No, Grandad means an old paper book - like those ones he showed you"
"The ones that don't move?"
"That's right - like the one about the bees"
"What are bees?"
"Eat your bananas"

LDBoblo · 02-17-2010, 05:24 AM

ebooks is already slang enough, is it not? It doesn't extend to nuance of magazines or other diverse media the way "e-reading" does, but it serves the pragmatic function more than adequately with far simpler phonological structure than almost all the more contrived terms that have been proposed. It also boasts broad acceptance as a loan term outside English, as well as establishment within both technical and nontechnical English fields.

Pretty much all of the forced attempts at new nomenclature for differentiated reading that we've seen here do nothing but highlight an individual's (or various individuals') desire to coin a phrase. It's not derived in a naturalistic sense, but rather one of contrived wit. It does not help that the logics behind such word choices yield no benefit to any social group. The paradigm shift just isn't substantial enough to demand it.

02-16-2010, 10:54 PM	#1
taglines Banned Posts: 96 Karma: 334 Join Date: Nov 2009 Device: nook	Vaporpapers as slang term for ebooks and such? A sometimes reader of this website, who has requested anonymity, and it's not me this time, my mind doesn't move in this direction very well but his does, and he has coined a very interesting word -- VAPORPAPERS -- As far as I can tell, given that the end of originality is always near in word-minting worlds, especially given the speed and bandwidth of the Internet, it appears at this moment in Internet Time that the newly-minted term VAPORPAPERS has not reached any of Google's spiders -- at least not in the sense that it has been coined. Electronic print fans, especially green ones, might take umbrage at the coining of VAPORPAPERS, true. But you must admit, there's still no plan for the long-term preservation of e-book contents. Is there? If so, dish here. And think about this too: The environmental and disposal costs of producing and recycling rapidly obsolescent e-readers is likely to be more serious than the well-established system of sustainable forests. The coiner of the word VAPORPAPERS asked me to ask anyone who knows......just what ARE the actual components (and future environmental impacts) of an iPad or a Kindle or nook? Hamlet didn't carry a BlackBerry, for a very good reason. He had his own erasable tablet. Worked quite well for him then. Then came the print. Now comes the Digital Revolution. Ou va la France? PS: I did not coin this word. A gentleman in distant land coined it the other day and asked me to post this thread just to garner reactions pro and con. I am not really sure what he is driving at, but I like all new words when they prod people into thinking. I am not sure I like the word or really understand what he meant. BTW, this man is NOT an enemy of the Digital Revolution, nor is he a sworn protector of Mr Paper; he is far smarter than this or that. But he asked me to post this for him, and I think it might be an interesting chat. I am just relaying an idea here ... to the board, since most people here have thought deeply about all this. Dish!

02-17-2010, 02:09 AM	#5
dadioflex Dyslexic Count Posts: 526 Karma: 5041991 Join Date: Aug 2008 Device: Palm TX, Advent Vega, iPad, iPod Touch, Kindle	Edit. Last edited by dadioflex; 12-15-2010 at 06:34 PM.

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02-17-2010, 01:30 AM	#4
Guns4Hire Reading...Since 1970 Posts: 610 Karma: 7819 Join Date: Jan 2010 Device: Nova Air C, Nova Pro, LifebookMars, BoyueT62+ Glowlight, NST, PB360	I think it sounds silly. Anytime in the past where vapor was used it usually mean't something that never showed up. Vaporware etc.

02-17-2010, 04:31 AM	#7
LDBoblo Wizard Posts: 1,385 Karma: 16056 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Asia Device: Kindle 3 WiFi, Sony PRS-505	Another disadvantage to the name is the excessive syllable count with multiple plosives.

02-17-2010, 04:34 AM	#8
Katti's Cat Wizard Posts: 2,259 Karma: 175640 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Brisbane Australia Device: Sony PRS-600	How silly of me - here I thought eBook was already the short version of electronic book. Didn't know we need to call it anything else.

02-17-2010, 04:54 AM	#11
Sweetpea Grand Sorcerer Posts: 9,707 Karma: 32763414 Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Krewerd Device: Pocketbook Inkpad 4 Color; Samsung Galaxy Tab S6	I thought we were talking about ebooks that were promised but still aren't here...

02-17-2010, 05:18 AM	#14
Ben Thornton Guru Posts: 900 Karma: 779635 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: UK Device: Kindle 3, iPad 2 (but not for e-books)	I don't understand the incentive for a new word. In time, I expect that "ebook" will evolve into "book", with the differentiation being required for old-style, physical books. "No, Grandad means an old paper book - like those ones he showed you" "The ones that don't move?" "That's right - like the one about the bees" "What are bees?" "Eat your bananas"

02-17-2010, 05:24 AM	#15
LDBoblo Wizard Posts: 1,385 Karma: 16056 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Asia Device: Kindle 3 WiFi, Sony PRS-505	ebooks is already slang enough, is it not? It doesn't extend to nuance of magazines or other diverse media the way "e-reading" does, but it serves the pragmatic function more than adequately with far simpler phonological structure than almost all the more contrived terms that have been proposed. It also boasts broad acceptance as a loan term outside English, as well as establishment within both technical and nontechnical English fields. Pretty much all of the forced attempts at new nomenclature for differentiated reading that we've seen here do nothing but highlight an individual's (or various individuals') desire to coin a phrase. It's not derived in a naturalistic sense, but rather one of contrived wit. It does not help that the logics behind such word choices yield no benefit to any social group. The paradigm shift just isn't substantial enough to demand it.