From: c23st@kocrsv01.delcoelect.com (Spiros Triantafyllopoulos)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.europe,soc.culture.greek
Subject: Re: More on Macedonia (was Re: Greece reacts...
Date: 28 Jan 1993 15:29:22 -0600
Organization: Delco Electronics Corporation
NNTP-Posting-Host: cs.utexas.edu

stank@cbnewsl.cb.att.com (Stan Krieger) wrote:

> I believe the country's name, and before that the name of the province
> of Yugoslavia, is "Macedonia".  To avoid confusion on the net, please
> use the name by which the country wishes to be known.

Stan, let me tell you a little story.

Back in 1984 or so, my Alma Mater (which has the same initials as your
employer :-), USL, or University of Southwestern Louisiana) decided, for
better or worse, to rename itself to University of Louisiana. 

No University of Louisiana exists, and apart from the ego boost that
came with the name, there was little to be gained from the name
change.  So, since the school had already changed its name twice in
its 100+ year old history, one from South Louisiana Teachers College
or something and another with a similar sounding name, the lower court
approved the name change and for a semester or two we were known as
the "University of Louisiana" (UL). Whoever graduated in 1984 received
two sets of degrees, and UL spent a pile of money on signs, letterhead, etc.

Unfortunately, our big neighbor, Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge,
was pissed off. They felt threatened that they would receive less money 
from the State if there was a U of L. They were receiving the lion's share
of money anyway. Two other schools, each with enrollments of approximately
the same size as UL, (Univ of New Orleans being one) also tried to block
us for the same reason. 

The reason was stupid of course; allocation of money is not done based
on NAME; it is based on lots of factors such as enrollment, research,
grants, programs, etc. Yet LSU managed to take it all the way to the
state supreme court and when I got out in 1985 we were called back USL.

So, without causing harm to anyone, or claiming heritage/money/whatever,
my University was not allowed to change its name, and it was all legit
due to LSU's hi-paid lawyers. So, Stan, our university wished to be called
U of L, yet our powerful neighbor did not let us and we're still U S L.

If Universities can not be called whatever they wish, why should
countries do so?

When USL (Unix System Labs) was formed, we (USL) did not feel
threatened; we (USL) did not blockade New Jersey, nor did we boycot
Unix by switching to VMS or whatever. Underwriters Laboratories (UL)
did not throw a fit when we briefly changed to UL. Read, Stan, the
argument is not about the name change per se.

Now, imagine that little Univ of Southwestern Louisiana would come up
and claim we wrote Unix, and that Brian and Dennis really worked in
our computer center changing printer paper during the day and hacking
on our PDP-11 at night, instead of at USL; That AWK stands for the
sound one makes when he eats crawfish for the first time.... That Yacc
is what one says when they have had too much gumbo. You get the idea.

Do you still think that you're right?

Spiros (USL B.Sc. 83, USL M.Sc. 85, Happy Unix User since 84)
-- 
Spiros Triantafyllopoulos                    c23st@kocrsv01.delcoelect.com
Software Technology, Delco Electronics       (317) 451-0815
GM Hughes Electronics, Kokomo, IN 46904      [A Different Kind of Disclaimer]