[jackowayed]

This phrasing confused me more.

`$ ln -s link_from link_to` would imply the reverse behavior. How does a symlink point from the actual file to the thing-that-looks-like-a-file-but-is-really-a-symlink? The file doesn't even know whether there are symlinks pointing to it.

Applying your definitions of "link from" and "link to", this:

<a href="http://google.com/>Google</a>;

creates a link from google.com to the hyperlink on your site.

I find the top reddit comment:

    cp existing new
    ln -s existing new

much, much more useful. You want to create a new link pointing to an existing file, which has the same ordering as when you use cp to create a new file with the content of an existing file.

[joshwa]

Less ambiguously:

  cp    existing_thing new_thing
  ln -s existing_thing new_thing

[MicahWedemeyer]

That's exactly how I remember it too

  ln -s 'the one that exists' 'the one that doesnt exist'

I actually say that to myself as I'm typing the command. Since I started doing that, I've never gotten it wrong.

[phlux]

I say in my head "link symboliicaly from HERE to THERE"

It took me a long time till I realized that saying it thus made me always recall it properly.