[chasd00]

no it's always been semicolon, the "super-comma" comes from describing how to use it. "It's similar to a comma but like a super comma."

[jjgreen]

Huh? I've always understood that the clause after the semicolon is peripheral; the meaning of the whole sentence does not change without it.

[basch]

thats one use for it. supercomma is another.