---
title: "Rethinking the Term “Users”"
date: 2007-07-27
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> For AI agents: a documentation index is available at https://idratherbewriting.com/llms.txt. Markdown versions of all pages are available by appending .md to any page URL.

# Rethinking the Term “Users”

[![Josh Bernoff and Charlene Li](https://s3.us-west-1.wasabisys.com/idbwmedia.com/images/joshbernoff1.jpg)](http://blogs.forrester.com/charleneli/2007/07/im-sick-of-user.html)Josh Bernoff wrote [an intriguing post](http://blogs.forrester.com/charleneli/2007/07/im-sick-of-user.html) (titled "I'm sick of users") about why we should avoid the term "users." Josh says,

> Nobody talks about users of dishwashers, or users of retail stores, or users of telephones. So why are we talking about "users" of computers, browsers, and software?
>
> Try, just for a day, to stop using this word. You'll be amazed at how differently you think about the world.
>
> Web users become people looking for information.
>
> Application users become employees trying to get stuff done.
>
> Users of your Web site become customers.

I tend to agree. After reading the post, I was talking to someone who mentioned their "users," and I had to laugh a little. When I hear the term, I now think of a drug user or some other addictive person.