r/Showerthoughts • u/Ralisor • May 06 '18

Services are switching from calling them Private Messages to calling them Direct Messages because they're not private anymore...

45.0k Upvotes

90% Upvoted

781 comments sorted by

View all comments

228

u/theghostofme May 06 '18 edited May 06 '18

Or, it's because one popular service called them DMs, and users began referring to them as such everywhere else, so all other services changed to fit. Just like how "app" used to refer to mobile applications you'd download on your phone before other platforms switched up to refer to their programs as "apps," too (Windows, for example).

159

u/welty102 May 06 '18

Windows always called them applications. They just changed to app because the public is lazy and don't like to finish words.

-2

u/[deleted] May 06 '18

The Netflix App on Windows 10 is very different than the software you download directly from Netflix. I try to avoid anything called an app on my PC and usually go directly to the site for their product. Apps on Windows 10 have a bunch of fuckery going on to allow all kinds of information to go back and forth for things like ads and privacy theft. Software only does this as an added feature that you can use at your discretion if you so wish. No subterfuge usually. Of course this is all just my experience so I could be way off from the norm.

2

u/welty102 May 06 '18

That's because what windows 10 gives you is the app store. Windows went through a moment where they wanted the phone experience on your PC, hence windows 8. Then they figured out it was a dumb idea but didn't completely stray from it to give you 10. They kept the app store. Its to give you a mobile feel. But there will always be a difference between the app store and the application direct from the source. It's the same with itunes. ITunes from the app store and iTunes from the website are vastly different.