Kill The Capital "I"

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There will come a day when all the online, newspaper and magazine editors who've insisted on capitalizing the "i" in internet for the last 15 years or so will try to evade responsibility for this. They'll look colleagues in the face as they deny supporting it -- "Who, me?" -- when in fact they're now enforcing one of the most outrageous and illogical style charades in editorial history.

The internet is a network of technological realms and pathways that enable the exchange of digitally-coded information. Just as the nation's highway system is a network of elevated and land-topped concrete roadways that enable vehicles of all sizes to travel just about anywhere in the country. And yet nobody ever refers to the nation's "Highway" system. And nobody writes about "Radio Waves." Nobody refers to "Broadcast or Cable or Satellite Dish" television. And yet the N.Y. Times style charlatans insist, year after year after year, on the "Internet" spelling.

Every time I see this my face begins to redden and my teeth grind in rage. It's spelled internet -- no ifs, ands or buts. And I don't want to hear any specious arguments in favor of sticking with the capitalization. It's a moronic rule.

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Posted by Jeffrey Wells on March 11, 2009 at 6:37 AM

comment #1

Sabina E says ...

I never really thought about capitalizing "internet," hell I had no idea people were split over this issue,

Posted by Sabina E at March 11, 2009 7:29 AM

comment #2

moorish says ...

I agree entirely with Jeff, there should be no capital I. It's "internet".

However, if you want to talk about teeth-grindingly annoying, I really hate Jeff's penchant for saying things like "when I saw [insert film title] last January" when what he means is THIS January, ie. two months ago. LAST January would be January 2008. There is no good reason for this and it drives me insane. So I know how Jeff feels!

Posted by moorish at March 11, 2009 7:35 AM

comment #3

Krazy Eyes says ...

What about the capital "w" in Web and Web site? Can we kill those too? While we're at it can we officially make it "website"?

Posted by Krazy Eyes at March 11, 2009 7:36 AM

comment #4

DavidF says ...

In Canada the style has evolved from "Web site' to "website."

Internet is trickier because, after all, it is THE Internet.

There are far goofier things going on in the language generally, and journalistic style standards in particular.

Posted by DavidF at March 11, 2009 7:49 AM

comment #5

Sabina E says ...

haha, moorish, you should totally read "Eats, Shoots and Leaves" (by Lynn Truss), it talks about people's most common mistakes when it comes to grammar and punctuation.

Posted by Sabina E at March 11, 2009 7:50 AM

comment #6

PCP_Patriots says ...

Wow, must be a VERY SLOW day today!

Posted by PCP_Patriots at March 11, 2009 8:03 AM

comment #7

PCP_Patriots says ...

Upset about your sports team losing ... upset about the presidential election ... upset about even the wrong amount of spice in your meal ... but this? Who friggin' cares!!!!!!!

Posted by PCP_Patriots at March 11, 2009 8:05 AM

comment #8

Jeffrey Wells says ...

Indeed -- web should be decapitalized in every corner of the land. It's website and not Web site. The idea that there are college-educated people out there actually insisting upon writing "Web site" just staggers me.

Posted by Jeffrey Wells at March 11, 2009 8:06 AM

comment #9

DavidF says ...

...ah. but that's because World Wide Web has to be capitalized...It's not A World Wide Web, it's THE World Wide Web.

yeah, it's a slow day.

Posted by DavidF at March 11, 2009 8:21 AM

comment #10

adorian says ...

Yet, when we are referring to that highway system, don't we call it the Interstate System?

Don't we refer to I-35 instead of i-35?

Posted by adorian at March 11, 2009 8:28 AM

comment #11

Jeffrey Wells says ...

Lackey apologist for the "Internet" mafia!

Posted by Jeffrey Wells at March 11, 2009 9:32 AM

comment #12

arturobandini2 says ...

Slightly O/T, but has anyone else noticed that practically everyone under 35 decapitalizes the pronoun "I"? Either they all have low self-opinions, are too lazy to hit the Shift button, or fancy themselves e.e. cummings. As a cultural movement, it's very peculiar.

And speaking of The NY Times... it drives me up the wall that they ALWAYS put the apostrophe in the wrong place when referring to decades. It should be "the '80s" -- not "the 80's."

Posted by arturobandini2 at March 11, 2009 9:39 AM

comment #13

PCP_Patriots says ...

Though a slow day and a silly topic, to be honest, it is truly a FUN topic indeed :-)

Posted by PCP_Patriots at March 11, 2009 9:48 AM

comment #14

PCP_Patriots says ...

To be honest, out of all the Internet sites out there, I enjoy this Web site daily . It is bookmarked by me and I use Cable Internet to view it rather than Satellite Dish Cable.

Posted by PCP_Patriots at March 11, 2009 9:54 AM

comment #15

kamichojin says ...

Fun topic. The capitalization is definitely unnecessary. Random: the one pet peeve that drives me batshit is when I see "ayem" written for AM.

Posted by kamichojin at March 11, 2009 10:32 AM

comment #16

PCP_Patriots says ...

Or what about oight ... for all right ... horrible.

Posted by PCP_Patriots at March 11, 2009 10:43 AM

comment #17

televisiontears says ...

"The internet is a network of technological realms and pathways that enable the exchange of digitally-coded information."

I thought it was a series of tubes.

Posted by televisiontears at March 11, 2009 10:45 AM

comment #18

lazarus says ...

Adorian, we're only capitalizing the "i" in I-35 because of the abbreviation. We write "TV" though we write "television" for the whole thing. But if you write "I was out on the interstate today" (why someone would say this I don't know), you wouldn't capitalize it.

Posted by lazarus at March 11, 2009 11:56 AM

comment #19

berg says ...

... it's Smokey Bear - not Smokey the Bear

Posted by berg at March 11, 2009 3:11 PM

comment #20

Gordon27 says ...

"Slightly O/T, but has anyone else noticed that practically everyone under 35 decapitalizes the pronoun "I"?"

I don't know about "under 35", but under a certain age, I'd say it has to do with texting. Now they've got stuff that automatically capitalizes the I, but capitalizing it while typing on a phone is tres annoying.

Posted by Gordon27 at March 11, 2009 3:22 PM

comment #21

count.olaf says ...

Capitalizing "Internet" refers to what most people commonly use their browser to access: the world wide web (or World Wide Web).

Lowercase "internet" refers to any interconnected network - including the "Internet." So there is a reason to capitalize, even if one feels strongly against it.

-the Previous Was not Specious and not Advocating randoM capitaLIzation-

Posted by count.olaf at March 11, 2009 4:15 PM

comment #22

dangovich says ...

I believe the AP guide still calls for capitalization on the "i" in internet and "W" in web site. If you write for someone who follows AP guidelines, your are compelled to follow this goofy practice until the day when sanity will reign.

Posted by dangovich at March 11, 2009 5:47 PM

comment #23

citizenmilton says ...

There's a specific sense in which the "I" in internet potentially deserves capitalization, in that the Internet refers to a unique system of protocols (TCP/IP) that differentiate it from other potential networks. Eventually, the Internet might give way to a faster networking system with all of the benefits of the Internet but additional capabilities. Some significant tax dollars have gone toward such a net, which some people casually refer to as "Internet 2.0," which, fine, might someday supplant the current one.... or, perhaps a new system altogether will take over.

I'm guessing the term internet has such value in the culture now that it will probably be adapted to refer to the reigning cyberspace network of cultural consensus, but, to be clear, that would -change- and evolve the meaning of the term. Which would further underscore the wish to make it lower-cased....

...but, the folks upper-casing it at the moment definitely have a semi-legit reason for doing so.

Posted by citizenmilton at March 11, 2009 6:58 PM

comment #24

katcalls says ...

Don't even get me started on "Ethernet."

Posted by katcalls at March 11, 2009 7:28 PM

comment #25

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