I question whether it matters because the general public will decide what to call a thing– generally based on convenience. Eddie Campbell notwithstanding, I think it’s okay if we get it technically wrong, as long as we understand each other.

I’ll go out on a limb and say that “all webcomics are comics, but not all comics are webcomics.”

I’ll further posit that (and it gets sticky here) since most of the webcartoonists I identify with are independent creators who own the properties they write and/or illustrate, there is precedent (or tendency) to say that “all webcomics are independent comics.”

The problem with this is that the word “webcomics” is made up of two words whose meanings are, at least in modern tech-speak, fairly fixed. Concatenating those words gives us a word which, to the uninitiated, should mean “any comic that appears on the web is a webcomic.”

But there are independent cartoonists (and journalists who write about them) who are looking for a word that says “creator-owned comic properties principally delivered via HTTP,” and these folks just don’t have time for more than maybe three or four syllables. To them, “webcomic” would include Penny Arcade, XKCD, and Turn Signals on a Land Raider, but would NOT include Dilbert.

How clearly understood are we when we say “indie” comics? Would saying “Indie Webcomics” and “Syndie Webcomics” allow us to establish firm meaning, and proceed with meaningful dialog rather than an argument over semantics?

With “Ordinary Things” I find elements common in things I call webcomics — it’s online, freely offered, owned by its creator, presented as a comic, and (for bonus points) it’s a journal.

It is possible that the creator of “Ordinary Things” (which I have not followed beyond looking at enough pictures to say “yeah, webcomic”) is blissfully unaware of “webcomics,” and feels compelled to hang a different shingle out.

The definition of webcomic or regular comic is only really relevant in determining what the primary focus of the creator is. Other than that, it really isn’t that important, especially since the line is so blurred to begin with.