Randy:
Welcome aboard! Your input is valuable and you will find tons of information on other subjects related to telecommunications as well. I somewhat agree with you on the "RJ" vs: "J" statement you made. Maybe there should have been an "RJ" designation for the jack itself and an "RP" designation for the plug.
It's a good thing that these misnomers and assumptions don't exist with electrical wiring or we would be in trouble. Fortunately, there is a uniform standard with electrical wiring (NEMA), but not so with telephone/data wiring. It's basically a crap shoot. You guess if that 8P8C jack in the wall is wired for what you need for the phone you have.
It's just not possible for 4P4C (handset) cord jacks to have a uniform standard since all manufacturers have different ways of doing things. You can't plug a Nortel handset into the base of an AT&T Trimline and get it to work, despite the fact that the plugs on the handset cord fit the jacks. My computer keyboard uses a 4P4C (handset) cord jack. I don't think that I will get a dial tone if I plug my phone's handset into the keyboard jack.
That's just it. An 8P8C PLUG is just that, 8 positions and 8 conductors. It's not a registered jack, but the piece of plastic fits into the square hole. Agreed, but it's a plug, not a jack.
