When will mainstream media editors stop spelling internet with a capital “I”? Almost every day I deal with this infuriating stipulation. However you want to define the worldwide web — an environment, a digital information delivery system, an intergalactic atmosphere — “internet” is a generic term like “highway” or “radio waves” or “broadcast.”

And why do editors insist on using “O.K.” rather than “okay”? Perhaps O.K., the usage of which apparently dates back to 1839, was once an abbreviation of something or other (perhaps Old Kinderhook) but no one seems to know or care these days, and if the apathy levels are as high as they seem then what’s the point? “Okay” has been generic term for as long as anyone can remember (“Ladies, it’s okay with me”) but a certain community of editors won’t budge.

I got into a similar idiotic dispute in the early ’80s with Ruth Robinson, a music industry reporter at the Hollywood Reporter, when she insisted that every time a mention was made of CDs that they be referred to as “Compact Disks.” I argued that this was like insisting that anyone writing an article about Michelin or Goodyear be required to write “Rubber Tire.”

I complained about this way back in October 2004 and nothing has changed.