[WEB4LIB] Re: spelling conventions

[Albert Lunde]

>When I choose the spell checker from WordPerfect  8, it always wants to give
>me a choice of Internet or INTERNET when it finds internet.  So, how much
>credence do you put on WPs spell checker will determine your acceptance of
>these two.

The original source of the capitalization of "Internet", is that the
capitalized word "Internet" refers to _the_ Internet, that is,
the-now-well-known, union of all globally connected TCP/IP networks.

The uncapitalized word "internet" refers, _an_ internet: a network of
networks, regardless of the protocols used.

Both usages are correct, but they mean different things.

History has made "Internet" a more common, less technical usage.

There is no justification for writing the word in all caps that I know of;
it is not composed of the initials of other words, like say, "WWW".


---
    Albert Lunde                      Albert-Lunde at nwu.edu