Subject: Re: misc/19820: SPARC trademarks fixes for the NetBSD on-line
To: matthew green <mrg@eterna.com.au>
From: Igor Sobrado <sobrado@string1.ciencias.uniovi.es>
List: netbsd-bugs
Date: 01/13/2003 08:43:40
> are you referring to, eg:
> 
> 	SEE ALSO
> 	     fdc(4) (amiga, i386 and sparc ports)
> 
> ?

No, I am speaking about a lot of references to SPARC machines
(not the sparc port itself), SPARC64 machines (i.e., UltraSPARCs),
and so on.  For example, SparcStation is wrong, as it is SPARC Classic.
Those trademarks have a well-known spelling, as it appears in
http://www.sparc.org/.  When most than one spelling is correct
both words appears in the trademarks section.

> in which case, this is already correct.  it's "NetBSD/sparc", not
> "NetBSD/SPARC".

I do not know why the port is spelled "sparc", probably a lawyers-related
matter.  In this case, NetBSD/sparc is obviously right, as it is
NetBSD/vax (even if "VAX" is the accepted spelling in both DEC's
manuals, RFCs, and books [1]).  But, if it *is* the reason to use
sparc (instead of SPARC), or vax (instead of VAX), the NetBSD Foundation
should use the word x86 instead of i386, as Solaris does (!)

By the way, on a previous PR I asked about the possibility of changing
NetBSD/vax to NetBSD/VAX.  If it is wrong I will add a note to that
report.  But that machine is spelled "VAX", and not "vax" or "Vax",
"VAX" should be used when referring to the machine itself, even if
it is used to identify the vax port.

[1] One of the books that better manage machines/OSes names is
    "Using C-Kermit" from Frank da Cruz and Christine M. Gianone.
    They care a lot about spelling (and about the quality of C-Kermit!)

Briefly, I agree with you about about spelling "amiga", "i386", "sparc"
or "vax" when referring to the ports, but those words should NOT be used
when referring to the machines.  And in most cases, "sparc" and "sparc64"
refer to the machines themselves.

It is easy to see that "on sparc machines" identifies a feature of the
"sparc port", but it should be spelled "on SPARC machines", because it
is referring to that port using the name of the platform where it runs,
and the platform itself must be spelled SPARC, and not sparc or Sparc.

We must agree that "SPARC" is a registered trademark, and it should
be spelled "SPARC" when identifying the machines themselves, even if
it is referring to the sparc port (spelled "sparc").

Cheers!
Igor.
-- 
Igor Sobrado, UK34436 - sobrado@acm.org