Jacqueline McNally wrote:
Lars D. Noodén wrote:
Proper nouns are capitalised and not everyone agrees that the
internet is a proper noun.
The name "the Internet" has been a proper noun as long as I've been
aware of it. There is a difference between *an* internet and *the*
Internet.
Please, let's correct the error on the page to reflect proper English
grammar.
It is not incorrect.
"In English grammar, proper nouns are capitalized, but whether or not
the internet is a proper noun is disputable. Things whose status as a
proper noun is debatable are handled inconsistently in English. For
example, chess is not capitalized but Go generally is. Some analogous
things, such as "the power grid", "the telephone network", and even "the
sky", are not usually capitalized [3]."
From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet#Capitalization_conventions
"In the Internet standards community, which includes the IETF, there was
a theory for many years that "the Internet" (capital I) referred to the
Internet, while "an internet" (lowercase i) referred to any system for
connecting multiple networks together, including the use of Internet
technologies for this purpose inside private networks. This subtle
distinction seems to have disappeared from common usage."
From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_Capitalization_Conventions
I used to be in the "Internet" camp, but after reading a Wired article
about the debate, changed to using "internet". Language evolves, common
usage, and all that.
FWIW, and speaking as a retired professional technical editor, I
agree with Jacqueline. Whether to capitalise the "i" in internet
or not is a matter of style, NOT grammar. I am in the small-i
camp too. Same for small "w" on web; it used to be a capital W,
but few people use a capital W nowadays.
--Jean
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