Wired News will henceforth no longer be capitalizing the “I” in “internet.” Rather, it’s just the ‘internet’ now. I tried to make this move about 5 years ago but was (and I have since been) rebuffed at every turn. Now, though, I have ammo: the definitive style guide is with me.
Michael Boyle's weblog
blork says
Since when is “Wired” the definitive style guide? The Internet, like the Web, is a proper noun, so it should have initial caps, just like The Pentagon, the Eiffel Tower, Parliament, and the Empire State Building.
Fukn Wired. The began by trying to redefine page style and typeography, doing things like printing marginless stories in blue ink on a red background. Whoop-de-do. They gave that up when they realized nobody could read that crap!
Michael says
Well, definitive in the sense that they were the first out of the block to take online writing style and usage seriously and, in a money grab that was nevertheless well executed, published the first usage guide that took this stuff into account in anything more than a cursory or overly-academic fashion.
Anyhow, I dispute the idea that “internet” is a proper noun. It is common to suggest so, but the suggestion is completely arbitrary and is based, I believe, on a fallacious interpretation of the nature of that particular network.
So there ;->
blork says
No way! It’s a proper noun because there is only one and it is a specific thing — when one refers to it, one refers to THE Internet, not “an” internet.
It’s like the Milky Way, or the Matrix. There’s only one, so it becomes a proper noun.
Playgrounds, after school. Yer dead, man…
;-)
Michael says
There’s only one internet? That’s like saying there’s one Highway, just because there isn’t some singular road that is unattached to other roads anywhere.
I’ll go ya!
Michael says
Here’s Zeldman on the same issue: “http://www.zeldman.com/daily/0804d.shtml#cap”