Big ups to Tim Bray for calling bullshit on the phrase “User-Generated Content”. Generation implies something that just happens as part of an automated process. Generating heat, for example (although it’s not generated in the purest sense of the word). Creating content, however - aka “writing entries” or “taking photos” or “talking about something” - requires interest, inspiration and creativity. It’s as far from generating things as you can come.
Even if you’re a cynic and think the internet’s all spam these days and that it is mostly generated (which actually is true), please don’t disparage the efforts of the people who are not dollar-eyed abusive goons by making up words like “User-Generated Content”. If you desperately must have a separate phrase and a separate phrase for the things actual people actually make at that, why not use “actual content”?
In short: What WordPress spits out is generated. What I write and tell WordPress to spit out is bunkcontent. Don’t conflate my role with that of WordPress, and don’t call me a “user”.