4 ms·
Really interesting, but a correction should be noted: CC is for courtesy copy, not carbon copy
by philipdlang 14y ago
Really interesting, but a correction should be noted: CC is for courtesy copy, not carbon copy
- shanselman 14y agoAh, I did not know that!
- shanselman 14y agoInteresting, I did a little looking and it seems it means both. http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc733 http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc733 indicates carbon for BCC. It may be a backronym as Wikipedia mentions.
- tallpapab 14y agoIronic that you refer to an RFC. CC was used in correspondence long before internets and RFCs (as was BCC). It meant "carbon copy" just as you said originally. This is a bit like updating an icon. The icon (actually acronym) was left unchanged and someone thought to call it "courtesy copy" because they must have thought carbon copies obsolete and confusing. Actually, I don't know the genesis of the term "courtesy copy", but I'm pretty sure it was an update. Sorry this whole rambling note is further evidence that old people (and their icons) don't make sense anymore.
- epo 14y agoCitation required, my understanding is that CC predates emails and would designate those to whom carbon copies were to be sent.
- brlewis 14y agoIt definitely predates emails. I'm 44 and I've always heard "carbon copy", never "courtesy copy". http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=cc http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=cc http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/carbon-copy.html http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/carbon-copy.html
- tallpapab 14y agoYes, carbon copy. I used them and still have some from ancient correspondence. I think "Courtesy Copy" was an attempt to update the acronym which is amusing and much in line with folks wanting to update icons. Not necessarily a bad thing, just kind of fun to know about.