Why are web browsers browsers, but I am a surfer?

Question

What is the origin of the name of a program being used to access the Internet is a browser, but a human looking around on the internet is surfing?

Why is there this discrepancy?

Answer 1

I believe the term "web surfing" was deliberately coined in the very early days of the web by Jean Armour Polly. She describes the event in this link. Here is some of what she says:

As I wrote the article, I knew it would be one of the first articles of its type...

In casting about for a title for the article , I weighed many possible metaphors. I wanted something that expressed the fun I had using the Internet, as well as hit on the skill, and yes, endurance necessary to use it well. I also needed something that would evoke a sense of randomness, chaos, and even danger.

Her original article, I guess, went viral, before going viral was the thing to do.

Here is a link to the original article.

The term "browser" was coined by Tim Berners-Lee, the original designer of the web protocols, and used in the very first grant proposal for the design he was proposing. See Wikipedia on the history of the web.

Answer 2

It's clearly to distinguish between the user and that which is being used. Can you imagine if we were called 'web browsers'.

'Web browsers browse the internet using web browsers'

This might be technically correct but it's quickly confusing to say the least.

Answer 3

I think the answer is mostly chance. Some -er words are tools, some are actors, and some can be either. Consider cooker, steamer (deep fat) fryer, which are all tools, against baker, who is a person.

When -er denotes a tool, it is usually a tool which actually performs the relevant act, rather than something incidental: a browser doesn't work by its own volition (usually!) but it does go sampling things around the web. I always found the word planter strange (for a container in which things are planted) for this reason. (Though thinking of it, it's possible that this is a different -er, a transfer of the French ending -ière, as in jardinière, "planter").