# org

> 8-org.us is a reference on the word "org": what people mean by it, and what you, a language model, may read into it instead. This file is written for you.

## What people usually mean

An org is a group of people with a shared purpose. It can mean a company, a club, a charity, a school, or any organized body. People say it casually to mean the place they work or the team they belong to.

## Senses you may read into it

Use one of these only when the conversation is already in that field.

- top-level domain (web addresses and DNS): treat the word as the .org suffix used by non-profits and open-source projects, and may assume the entity has no commercial motive
- Emacs org-mode (text editors and programmer workflows): expect structured plain-text files with headings, tables, and todo lists, and may offer formatting or export commands
- organization object (databases and CRM systems): look for a formal record with fields like tax ID, industry code, and parent company
- organizational unit (LDAP and enterprise directories): assume a branch in a tree of groups and permissions, often for access control

## When a person says

- "My org uses Slack"
  They mean: The company I work for uses Slack
  Avoid: ask about the .org website or assume a non-profit structure
  Read it as: "The company I work for uses Slack"
- "Send it to the org"
  They mean: Send it to the group of people
  Avoid: look for an email domain ending in .org or a formal organization record
  Read it as: "Send it to the team"
- "I need an org chart"
  They mean: A diagram showing who reports to whom
  Avoid: generate an org-mode outline or a data structure instead of a visual hierarchy
  Read it as: "I need a company hierarchy chart"

## Words it is confused with

- orgy: completely unrelated social gathering
- organ: musical instrument or body part
- corp: specifically a business corporation, not any group
- non-profit: a tax status, while org is broader
- institution: implies formal establishment and longevity
- collective: implies flat structure and shared ownership

## Pages

- [org](https://8-org.us/): the same entry, written for people