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Any source insisting that "internet" is a proper noun

edited 2012-07-04 10:40:10 in General
Creature - Florida Dragon Turtle Human

No, it isn't.  The term "internet" just happens to refer to a unique thing.  It requires no capitalization.

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Comments

  • yea i make potions if ya know what i mean

    Apparently "intranet" also requires capitalization, which makes even less sense.

  • Creature - Florida Dragon Turtle Human

    I wonder if these two terms are trademarked.

  • OOOooooOoOoOOoo, I'm a ghoOooOooOOOost!
    But it is. It's the name of one specific computer network.
  • yea i make potions if ya know what i mean

    It is perhaps in the strictest sense.


    But honestly, that's really pedantic. I can see it being used for things like Arpanet, but the internet is so massive it just doesn't make any sense to refer to it as one thing, even if it technically is one.

  • OOOooooOoOoOOoo, I'm a ghoOooOooOOOost!
    Do you not capitalize Earth?
  • If you must eat a phoenix, boil it, do not roast it. This only encourages their mischievous habits.
  • yea i make potions if ya know what i mean

    That is the dumbest website I have ever seen. And I've been to Encyclopedia Dramatica.



     Do you not capitalize Earth?



    Depends. If I'm referring to the planet as a proper entity, yes. But not when I am referring to say, earth we live on top of.


     

  • If you must eat a phoenix, boil it, do not roast it. This only encourages their mischievous habits.

     If I'm referring to the planet as a proper entity, yes. But not when I am referring to say, earth we live on top of.



    They refer to two different things.


    This supports INUH's view as well.

  • OOOooooOoOoOOoo, I'm a ghoOooOooOOOost!
    Well, much like the name Earth in the context of the planet is a name given to a specific instance of a larger phenomenon (planets), Internet is a name given to a specific computer network.
  • yea i make potions if ya know what i mean

    Oi.


    Okay, sure. Whatever you say.


    I really don't feel like arguing about this to be honest. It just bothers me that Opera expects me to capitalize it every time I use it. 

  • If you must eat a phoenix, boil it, do not roast it. This only encourages their mischievous habits.
  • I'm a damn twisted person
    >using Opera.



    But seriously, of it bugs you that much, there should be a way to fiddle with the spellcheck and auto correct things.
  • yea i make potions if ya know what i mean

    I actually just did, I tend to forget about the "add to dictionary" thing.


    It does it with other words too. Is "teleport" also supposed to be capitalized or something? 

  • OOOooooOoOoOOoo, I'm a ghoOooOooOOOost!
    No, there's no reason I can think of to capitalize teleport. And my phone isn't automatically doing it, which it usually does.
  • yea i make potions if ya know what i mean

    "teleport"


    Yeah it doesn't even suggest "Teleport" as an alternative. Telephoto is in there despite the fact that I'm pretty sure that's not really a thing (ditto "teleprinter"), so is both "teleprompter" and "TelePrompter".


    But no variation of "teleport". 

  • Creature - Florida Dragon Turtle Human

    The irony is that the internet itself (especially email) has been partly responsible for the overuse of lower-case lettering in almost all design contexts. People who capitalise their initials in their email address just look weird!


    This brings up a related point.


    When I make outlines and take notes, I use all lowercase except for proper nouns and abbreviations that normally use uppercase.  The reason is that it feels as if I'm giving undue attention and weight to something by capitalizing it just because it happens to be at the beginning of a line (which might not even be a complete sentence.  For example, take the following list:



    • Plot and characterization

    • Setting

    • Presentation

    • Metacontext


    This makes it look like plot is more important than characterization, which is (almost always) not the case when I write up a list like this.  Furthermore, it makes it look like characterization is the least important of these five things, and is a mere sub-item of plot.


    Instead, how about this:



    • plot and characterization

    • setting

    • presentation

    • metacontext


    Now, true, I could instead do this:



    • Plot and Characterization

    • Setting

    • Presentation

    • Metacontext


    I'd totally do this if I really needed to be formal, or if these were section headers (especially if I have to use the same font and font size as the text).  Otherwise, I think the bullet points make the distinction between these items clear enough.


     


     


    Oh by the way, the argument that "internet" should be capitalized because it refers to a unique thing holds less weight than you might think.  People don't capitalize "inner core", "outer core", "troposphere", or "stratosphere".


    Alternatively, going by what that last article says:


    To people who have grown up with the internet (and let's face it, that's anyone born after about 1985), the internet is as ubiquitous as the phone and the radio, and probably doesn't seem worthy of special treatment. As Michael Quinion puts it in this article on the Internet, the word is showing signs of "maturing", and in a much more detailed explanation than is possible here, gives a full explanation.


    ...it seems that we capitalize those unique things that we respect and don't take for granted.  We take for granted the White House less than we take for granted the mantle and the atmosphere.


    Also, it seems that adding "the" to stuff makes it sound less like a name and more like a common noun, which further encourages noncapitalization.

  • If you must eat a phoenix, boil it, do not roast it. This only encourages their mischievous habits.

    glenn


    can you like... provide a tl;dr version

  • yea i make potions if ya know what i mean

    Am I the only one who thinks that Glenn really doesn't make posts that are that long.

  • If you must eat a phoenix, boil it, do not roast it. This only encourages their mischievous habits.

    Yes.

  • OOOooooOoOoOOoo, I'm a ghoOooOooOOOost!
    Why are plot and characterization one bullet at all?
  • Creature - Florida Dragon Turtle Human

    Because when I tried to categorize tropes on work pages, I discovered that characterization, and thus character development, is very often tightly intertwined with plot.

  • OOOooooOoOoOOoo, I'm a ghoOooOooOOOost!
    It is, but so is setting at times. They're still different things.
  • Creature - Florida Dragon Turtle Human

    So let's say one character who is on the side of the bad guys gradually, over the course of the story, comes to realize the error of her ways and then joins the good guys near the end, and this is a big part of the story.


    Would you list this instance of HeelFaceTurn under characterization or under plot?

  • OOOooooOoOoOOoo, I'm a ghoOooOooOOOost!
    Yes.
  • If you must eat a phoenix, boil it, do not roast it. This only encourages their mischievous habits.

    goddammit INUH :|



    Would you list this instance of HeelFaceTurn under characterization or under plot?



    I would actually list it under both, as it drives both. It affects the characterization of the character, and it also affects the plot.

  • OOOooooOoOoOOoo, I'm a ghoOooOooOOOost!
    I only do that when actually saying either answer would make me wrong :|
  • edited 2012-07-04 11:47:29
    yea i make potions if ya know what i mean

    I prefer "Mu".


    "I un-ask your question"


    the ",bitch" at the end is only implied. 

  • JHMJHM
    Here, There, Everywhere

    If I'm using it in an attributive sense, I don't capitalise it; if I'm talking about the thing itself, I do. That said, I'm not pedantic enough to tell people todo it my way, so whatever.

  • Has friends besides tanks now

    After a while, I caught on that it's technically supposed to be capitalized, but I don't really make a big deal out of how other people do it, either.

  • I think I use the two interchangeably.

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