Twice a year, the General Delegation for the French Language (DGLF) publishes a guide called "You Can Say It in French" («vous pouvez le dire en français »), a list of words which must be used by state services. The August 2009 edition focused on computer jargon, declaring it the largest source of Anglicisms in French. This site is a wonderful source of specialized French words, not only computer jargon.
Some of the suggested computer vocabulary makes a lot of sense. For example, they encourage you to use 'ver' instead of 'worm'. But other mandates provoke a big 'huh?' Like using 'arrosage' for spam. Arroser means 'to water or sprinkle'. I've seen 'pourriel' used for spam on many French sites, which seems better. Spam has that rotten connotation of pourrir rather than the refreshing implications of sprinkling.
Others are improvements over English. I like filoutage (filching, swiping, chiseling) over 'phishing'. But why did they specify this over hameçonage (fish hook, baiting) which is what most people had been using?
And then there is numéro d'urgence instead of hotline: why use the longer word? Isn't that a little like saying 'freedom fries' to avoid 'french fries'?
Bonus tip: hoaxbuster.com is the French version of snopes.com, a site to investigate rumors, urban legends and hoaxes. Use this when you receive an email (courriel) with questionable claims.
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