[jnoller]

I don't think the need to consider maintenance and scalability removes something from the definition of "the cloud" - consider the fact that on modern VPSes and EC2 I can spin up new resources within a heartbeat - sure, I still have to think about stuff, but instance on for elastic resources is what I think caused the "cloud" term to come into being.

[lsc]

so your definition of the cloud differs from the definition ryanelkins gave. This is all well and good, both the "completely abstracts hardware and OS details" definition that Ryan gave and the "just allows you to really quickly provision new hardware" definition you gave are fine definitions, and both are useful services in many cases. but my point is that you get five nerds in a room and you are going to have at least three completely different definitions of "cloud"

[jnoller]

You're right - and that worries me (personally, and professionally). I do think it's time the collective "we" start being a little bit more responsible with the term, so that others might.

Otherwise I'm worried we're going to see someone try to rebrand the internet as "the cloud" and then we're all doomed :)

[lsc]

I think "the cloud" has never had a solid, specific meaning, and it probably never will. I don't begrudge marketing and middle management their own set of jargon. Really, letting marketing and middle management have their own overly vague words can be good sometimes. If the boss asks you to put something "In the cloud" you have a lot of latitude to choose the solution that is most suitable for the situation.

Hell, maybe "cloud" will end up in the vague but useful category like "solution" I mean, sure, "solution" is even more broad than "cloud", but sometimes it seems more concise than "product or service" in a sentence, so it's still a word that I use sometimes.