[Air-L] copyediting question: capitalize www?

[Nathaniel Poor]

It's English, we have no absolute authority which dictates the language (despite what some people may think about Chicago or APA). Some countries, such as Spain and France, have some sort of institution (which I forget the name of) that is like the arbiter of language. Not that everyone follows those, but I remember a Spanish-speaking friend of mine was surprised to find out we didn't have one for English.

Internet (which there is at the start of a sentence, so who knows what my preference is) is a word in transition. Commonly it used to be Internet, now more people are using internet. Given that we are still in the transition, use whichever you like. As long as we can understand you, and your editors and reviewers are happy, then I'll be quite happy with my cup of coffee at the end of a good day.

-Nat.


On Nov 1, 2011, at 9:55 AM, Sue Thomas wrote:

> I agree with you Jonathan, and try my hardest not to capitalise, only to be regularly told off by editors! But here's an interesting question: if Internet and WWW, then why not Cyberspace? 
> 
> All very inconsistent. I empathise with the small t television (and telephone)
> 
> Sue
> 
> 
> _________ 
> Sue Thomas 
> Research Professor of New Media
> IOCT/Faculty of Art, Design and Humanities
> Clephan 1.01d, De Montfort University, The Gateway, Leicester LE1 9BH, UK  +44 (0)116 207 8266 
> w: http://www.thewildsurmise.com Nature and Cyberspace: stories, memes and metaphors
> e: sue.thomas at dmu.ac.uk
> t: @suethomas
> g: +suethomas
> 
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: air-l-bounces at listserv.aoir.org [mailto:air-l-bounces at listserv.aoir.org] On Behalf Of Jonathan Sterne, Dr.
> Sent: 01 November 2011 09:51
> To: <air-l at listserv.aoir.org>
> Subject: Re: [Air-L] copyediting question: capitalize www?
> 
> Hi Everyone,
> 
> I'm starting to get lots of replies, which I appreciate, and I'm happy to hear more people weigh in, but I'll take the opportunity to explain my thinking on "internet."  Early in their histories, most media are capitalized by journalists (eg., "Telegraph" or "Phonograph") but this usage generally falls away after some time.  I am one of those people who believe that the internet is best thought of as one more of a series of communication technologies that are important in our lives (indeed one of the arguments of the book I'm copyediting effectively de-exceptionalizes the internet).
> 
> Since I don't capitalize "phonograph" or "television" or "satellite", it seems strange to capitalize "internet" which is not really a new medium anymore.
> 
> OTOH, if there is another Really Good Reason to capitalize "internet," I would love to hear it.
> 
> Best,
> --Jonathan
> 
> 
> On 2011-11-01, at 5:46 AM, Sue Malta wrote:
> 
> As part of the team that publishes the "International Journal of Emerging Techologies and Society" (iJETS), I would ALWAYS opt for a capital for Internet and the World Wide Web....
> 
> Cheers
> 
> Sue Malta
> 
> 
> 
> P
> ...............................................
> Sue Malta
> Editor / Managing Editor
> International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Society (iJETS) Swinburne University of Technology John Street, Hawthorn, VIC 3122
> Email: ijets at swin.edu.au<mailto:ijets at swin.edu.au>
> Or: smalta at groupwise.swin.edu.au<mailto:smalta at groupwise.swin.edu.au>
> www.swin.edu.au/ijets<http://www.swin.edu.au/ijets>
> 
>>>> "Jonathan Sterne, Dr." 
>>>> <jonathan.sterne at mcgill.ca<mailto:jonathan.sterne at mcgill.ca>> 
>>>> 01/11/11 8:32 PM >>>
> Hi Everyone,
> 
> Please excuse any repetition if this has been answered recently. I know that people are coming around to not capitalizing the word "internet" (this is my preference too). But what about "world wide web"?
> 
> Best,
> --J
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-------------------------------
Nathaniel Poor, Ph.D.
http://natpoor.blogspot.com/
https://sites.google.com/site/natpoor/