Ping - The English We Speak
Doug: Ping being used to describe electronic messaging comes from the early days of computer networks. Ping is a line mode command (before Windows and using a mouse) to see if another computer or networking device could respond to a network signal sent to it. It was a configuration and troubleshooting tool. So to ping something meant to get its attention and a response. That usage morphed into pinging a person to get their attention, which Im ok with, but it seems the usage is changing to mean I will send this to you or can you send this to me which I dont like so much based on the words origins. Sort of like how selfie now means a picture. Ive had people ask me to take a selfie of them. Uh, if I take it its not a selfie... :-) Date: 2020-09-18
