Talk:P-Chlorocresol

This is listed on the list provided by CAS, but this name is not listed as one of them, and it's ambiguous. The Cl is defined relative to the OH, but the position of the methyl is not. The trivial name chlorocresol is used for this compound by EINECS, but CAS also lists synonyms such as p-chloro-m-cresol, 4-chloro-3-methylphenol, 4-chloro-3-cresol. What should we call this compound? Walkerma (talk) 03:43, 4 January 2009 (UTC)

The problem stems from it's wide use as biocide, and the industry jargon that develops around that. A related compound Chloroxylenol has a related issue. Agreement on this is elusive as well. Since it's more widely known as PCMC, I will vote for p-chloro-m-cresol. But, there is the argument for using the name that people will search for the most, or the most common name. Some people will know exactly what your talking about if you say P-Chlorocresol, others will want to know which one you mean. This is because the name P-Chlorocresol is now also industry jargon in addition to be a generic chemistry term. The solution is likely that the chemistry project team needs to decide how to handle the naming of molecule articles that are industrially relevant and have a lot of jargon associated with them. James.folsom (talk) 21:00, 28 November 2023 (UTC)