[PLUG] OT - On-line

guy1656 guy1656 at ados.com
Thu Jul 31 06:48:02 UTC 2003


: say discuss, talk about, address, or consult makes no sense.  Maybe I'm
:  I'm supposed to think I
: was ever 'online'?  I was on the phone.  When did the phone conversation
: constitute being online?

My lesiure reading is taking me through a bunch of machinist's and jobb 
shopper's autobiographical anecdotes. The earliest use I saw of 'online' went 
back to the "line shaft." Mills of the 1880's, be they waterpower or steam, 
would often build in one or powered shaft running the length of the shop 
floor or assembly line. All the machines, such as drill presses, lathes, and 
trip hammers, drew their rotational power from leather belts leading down 
from pulleys mounted along the line shaft. 

Although I haven't seen 'off line' used for a machine stopped (such as for 
repair or adjustment) by throwing off its belt, I have seen 'on line' (two 
words) used for operating machines connected to the line shaft.

Nasty thing to remember was that safety glasses were seen as a wussy 
exception, and most people worked in collared shirts and ties around all 
these unguarded spindles and pinching hazards.
OSHA hadn't been invented yet...

GLL




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