It’s ‘Internet’ – with a Capital Eye
The campaign starts here.
The word “Internet” needs to be capitalised. It needs to be capitalised out of respect for its importance and the fact that it’s a proper noun. We don’t write about “the pacific” or “oxford” or reading “the times newspaper.” We should not write about “the internet” for the same reason.
I’ve always capitalised the word “Internet” because if it wasn’t for the Internet, I wouldn’t have a career, a house, a car, or a life. The Internet is a place, a concept, a thing – and a very important one at that.
So it’s time all those closet Internet-hating sub-editors (the ones that secretly – and needlessly – fear that their jobs are being stolen from them by the machine) to grow up and pay homage to the word. And the word takes a capital eye.
2 Responses to “It’s ‘Internet’ – with a Capital Eye”
1 mdja 6 May 2009 @ 12:56 pm
The Internet has always been capitalised, and should always be. This is to distinguish it from *an internet* – which is a group of connected networks. The Internet is an internet, and there are other internets besides the Internet.
I didn’t just make this up – this is what I was taught in Internet school.
2 Jonathan 6 May 2009 @ 2:29 pm
Yeah, well I remember being enraged by this article when it came out. Since then The Guardian (or should that be “the guardian”?) has made a similar statement I think. Even Seth Godin’s at it, the ungrateful bastard.
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