I never understand why we need two name for the same thing!

There's multiple things for different things besides just those two so it doesn't really matter lol

I use those words interchangeably

I call them directories when I'm using command line, and folders otherwise. It's mostly because directories is a fucking long word but folders is simpler.

Linux distros don't really follow the usual Xerox office desk metaphor that Windows and macOS do.

Folder is more user friendly.

I call them containers.

Kidding. I use both terms.

@QueenCodeslut could go full gnome, and call them boxes :p

I personally think directory is the better word.

When I visualize the word folder, I get the image of something that folds things.

Ie. A poker player folds his card, by flipping it..

For user friendliness.. I guess it's a matter og taste.

The worst name I've come across for a directory though, is probably maps.
Some web shell file browser i came across once had just that...

Windows is kinda strange. There is a folder inside the user folder they call "Desktop", but surely the desktop folder should be the root folder right?

I like to say "folder" when I'm just talking about a particular folder, and "directory" when the full path of the folder is important too.

Naming is interchangeable.

What truly gets my blood boiling is the path separator "/" and "\".

And don't get me started on labeling drives via letters.

Have you ever met an old windows user? They call them directories

They are one in the same.
They are both folders and both have a directory path.

@theuser no, that's also not the case for most Linux distros

How about inode? 😉

Jahova Yahweh Allah God hmmmmmmmmmm...

windows is for the non-technically-inclined

Folder is easier to say.

I prefer Folder. Directory sounds worse

When someone asks me something, I say - open this-and-that Directory. Makes me sound more intelligent and smart.

Jeez, lets just call them folctory or direlder.

There's different desktops for different users that share the root. @theuser

On Windows one lists the contents of a folder with the 'dir' command...
Maybe they changed the naming to avoid confusion with directory services (like active directory)?

I generally don't care if it's called map, folder, directory or for (we Dutch people use that sometimes). One can use any of the words we greatly don't have to search for it.
What really bothers me though Is that I am always searching for the illusive 'add and remove programs' thingy. It has changed it's name a few times and the translations are vastly different. Also windows still has two interfaces for configuration options and often needs the hard to find old one to really fix things.

Buckets

Buckets with paths

It has always been a directory.
Microsoft decided as a UX decision (back around Windows 95, or even before) that from a user prespective, saving files in folders makes more sense (to people in the physical world) than saving files in directories which had no meaning in the physical world.

Microsoft was wrong. They should've kept it as directories imho.

Directory is the right term.
Folder is just for visualization

The thing is, in Linux, everything is a file while in Windows, it isn't.

But still Windows uses CMD dir to list all folders. :-) It should be command fol or fld. :-D

@bioDan Well, seeing how many non-tech-savvy people use Windows, that was a good decision lol

@filthyranter but when you try to `rm` directory it is not treated as a file ;)

@afrometal Windows doesn't have rm :)

@theuser What?

@-c--
Coworker: All the porn, duh. 😉

@Ashkin wants the whole package, I see.
Support rsync? Because it's gonna be quite the (pay)load :p

@filthyranter Its because of decisions like this that there are an ungodly amount non-tech-savvy users...windows doesn't draw in stupid users, it creates them.

@KidLaser Same for the average mac user...

@Jop- ...easy there buddy...

@-c-- how did I not see this comment earlier? "the mountpoint" hahaha!!

Windows:
C:> dir[ectory] Folder
Linux:
~ $ l[i]s[t] directory

@theuser Linux also does this.

@afrometal You are mistaken. It is treated as a file (use rm -r and you will see) just remember that not all files are equal. Some files can be executed for example. Others are even more special like a driver file or named pipe or socket. Still files though.
It is very common to have some exceptional behaviour based on file type but as a programmer you don't have too as everything is a file and file operations will apply

So it should be 'mf' not md or mkdir
To make folder in windows or osx

Linux/Windows
> dir foo
> cd foo
> mkdir bar
> rmdir bar

I guess it was just the GUI developers that couldn't be bothered with what terms the rest of the system uses.

Linux hugs you and treats it like a location while Windows watches you as a container