[Cialug] netroots? wtf?

[Todd Walton]

That wacky Merriam-Webster is at it again.  Whoever heard of "netroots"?

http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/netroots

Main Entry: net·roots
Pronunciation: \ˈnet-ˌrüts, -ˌru̇ts\
Function: noun plural
Date: 2003

: the grassroots political activists who communicate via the Internet
especially by blogs

I'm in the computer business and fairly steeped in the culture and I
ain't never heard of no "netroots".  Where do they get this stuff?

define:netroots on Google only shows results for Wikipedia (and sister
Wiktionary), and Wikipedia says it's political *activism*.  Merriam
Webster, which not only should be much more discriminating in what it
accepts as a neologism, says it's political *activists*.  It's pretty
clear on that; see above.  If I organize a petition via craigslist do
I become a "netroot"?  Or is the act of organizing online "netroots"?
I suspect they didn't mean activist, but rather activism, like
Wikipedia.

Oh, the tribulations my language must endure. (*puts hand to forehead*)

--
Todd