Timeline for Capitalization of "Internet"
Current License: CC BY-SA 3.0
11 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
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| May 28, 2018 at 23:43 | comment | added | CJ Dennis | "The world" is not capitalised, and there is only one. Also "the universe" and many more counterexamples. If it was truly a proper noun, it wouldn't need "the". Compare "God" with "a god". You don't say "the Dave", just "Dave". You never use "the" with a proper noun, except humorously. Capitalisation is used to make a noun important, e.g. "the Queen". When the internet first became available to the public it was big. It's not so big anymore because it's become part of our lives. | |
| May 1, 2018 at 15:25 | comment | added | reinierpost | How do you know the Internet is a proper noun? Why don't we capitalize the Sky? | |
| Apr 11, 2014 at 19:34 | comment | added | Alenanno | @PaulDraper That might be because "web browser" is a common noun, not a proper noun. The actual web browsers are capitalized though. I think that's the difference there. :D But yeah, I think that "internet" might lose the capital and probably it's already happening. | |
| Apr 11, 2014 at 18:56 | comment | added | Paul Draper | @Alenanno, that logic is not airtight. For example, "web browser" is lowercase, which is software for browsing the "World Wide Web", capitalized. There is only one web, yet it's capitalization is variable. The rules have changed over time. Eventually, it may be that the Internet would go the way of Television and Radio (which were originally capitalized). Some publishers lowercase internet. It's a convention, with plausible reasons, but a convention nonetheless. | |
| May 20, 2011 at 3:03 | vote | accept | jsj | ||
| May 19, 2011 at 14:49 | history | edited | Alenanno | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
added 227 characters in body; added 96 characters in body
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| May 19, 2011 at 14:45 | comment | added | Alenanno | Can the person who downvoted explain why? Thanks. | |
| May 19, 2011 at 14:27 | comment | added | That Realtor Programmer Guy | True, true. I just wanted to say it so no one would someday read this question and go violently accost unsuspecting writers of 'an internet'. ;P | |
| May 19, 2011 at 14:21 | comment | added | Alenanno | @Garet Claborn: You're right, I didn't thought of making the distiction since his doubts were basically about the Internet we all know... :D | |
| May 19, 2011 at 13:30 | comment | added | That Realtor Programmer Guy | +1 good answer. Something to add but I think this is the right answer so I'll put it here. There's a difference in capitalization for 'the Internet' and, say, an internet between two partner organizations. The former being the "normal" Internet and the latter usually being two inter-connected intra nets. | |
| May 19, 2011 at 12:08 | history | answered | Alenanno | CC BY-SA 3.0 |