I Say E-Mail, You Say Email -- Let's Call the Whole Thing Off!

The Demise of Email

To hyphenate or not to hyphenate? That is the question we all ask when we type the abbreviated version of electronic mail. Wired Magazine announced that it should be hyphenated. Yet, The New Hacker's Dictionaryuses "email" in its glossary and Geek.com uses the hyphen. Personally, I prefer it without the hyphen just because I'm lazy. But Wired does have a point, "e" does represent electronic and therefore e-mail is really two words. Thus, "e-mail" makes sense. However, most of the world is not going to switch overnight and you'll see plenty of "emails" floating around. Now, that's settled, what about "Web site?" or "Internet?" And the multitude of other words that have only recently become a part of our daily vocabulary? Well, let's end it once and for all. Here are the facts and resources to help you ensure (and NOT "insure," but that is another story) you're writing web terminology correctly or close to it anyway.

Big I or Little i?

For the longest time, I've been guilty of using "internet" in my references to this great, big "world wide web." After all, I thought the Internet was a noun and because it was not anyone's name or other proper noun, it was not supposed to be capitalized. Well, my logic thinking failed me this time. Because the Internet is the "mother of all internets," it should be capitalized and preceded by "the." The Net is perfectly acceptable as long as you remember Big N and the "the" word. Hey, I didn't want to end another sentence on "the." Oops, I did it anyway. Oh, and it is World Wide Web, Web site, and Web. These are all caps. Yet, when we say "webmaster," webcam," or "webzine" we keep them wee bitty.

http://www.webguest.com/glossary/

F-T-P, What Does it Mean to Me?

Some people use "ftp" (file transfer protocol) and others "FTP" and both are correct, depending on how it is used. If you are entering FTP into the URL, ftp is perfectly fine. However, if you're telling someone that she needs to use FTP to send the files to the server, it should big letters. It's an abbreviation and they're capitalized. The same rule applies to HTML (hypertext markup language), GIF (graphical interchange format), JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group), GUI (graphical user interface), and LAN (local area network). Yes, you can use FTP as a verb to say, "I FTP'd my files to the server." Just remember to use the shift key. "Hey, Meryl, Ms. Two Syllables Not One! Why is it "FTP'd" instead of "FTPed?" As Tevye from Fiddler on the Roof always said, "Tradition!" Actually, I think it's because it looks prettier. OK, I admit it, I don't know and I couldn't find the answer to that one. If you do, give me a ring.

Best of Both Worlds

Here comes the fun part, there are terms that mix upper and lower case letters. JavaScript, RealAudio, QuickTime, and WebTV fall into this group and they are correct. These are known as midcaps, intercaps, mixed case, WikiName, or whatever you've heard. Programmers use intercaps frequently especially since they avoid using spaces in database and file names. Just remember that company names that utilize the mixed cases are written in the same manner as their owners identify them. However, if a name that has five or more capital letters, then it can be written with just the first letter capitalized. If you've run into a hacker Web Site or a teen chat room, you've seen the ultimate oVERdoInG oF inTErCApS and it is just plain ugly and difficult to read.

http://info.astrian.net/jargon/
http://dymaxion.tensegrity.net/FrontPage

This is Giving Me a Headache, I Need Some Java

You've seen it as java, JAVA, and Java. Now, which is it? It is not JAVA sinceit not an abbreviation nor acronym. All programming languages are capitalized including C, Perl, and Pascal. Therefore, it is Java.

O Romeo, O Romeo - No PDA in this Play

Shakespeare was known for writing very few romantic scenes because all of his actors were men for both the male and female roles. So, you rarely see his characters showing PDA, or public display of affection. You were thinking personal digital assistant, weren't you? PDA has become very commonplace since the PalmPilot stormedthe industry. But, I have to agree with the experts out there that we should not use PDA since before CE (computer era) it was love lingo. Instead, use palmtop, handheld, or refer to the hardware by its brand name.

Mind Your Ps and Qs and FAQs

One of my pet peeves is when I see "FAQ's" with the apostrophe. I didn't know Mr. FAQ had his own personal belongings. Actually, it's not true and it should be "FAQs" to indicate more than one. It's weird looking especially when you do "Dos and Don'ts" since you think DOS as in the operating system. I just read an article that stated, "This is used with very small PDA's." I am sure this is a reference to more than one palmtop; so in this case, think Romeo and use "palmtops" or "handheld devices." And after all this, 3Com, the makers of the PalmPilot, recently has started using the world "palmpowered." Oy, here we go again...

In the previous article, "I Say E-Mail, You Say Email," I received many responses from you, both positive and fuhgettaboutit! One reader opened my eyes and asked why I didn't check with the Chicago Manual of Style (CMS) or Strunk and White's Manual. I belong in jail for that. I should have checked those resources instead of listening to my wooden brain and thinking that there would be no techie (no, it's not in the dictionary, but I'm going to use it anyway) terms in these references. Also, my using the Wired Style as a resource stirred up some controversy since some of you stated that it is not the authoritative resource for the English language on the technical side. That is true and I did use THE source this time (Webster, what else?). However, new words don't get into the dictionary quickly and the Internet is still young.

Got the whole world in my handheld - revisited

Like a good girl, I did more research. My CMS is sorely outdated. I found the CMS Web site as well as the Merriam-Webster Dictionary Web site. I wrote to Webster about the term "handheld." The reply, "The word "palmtop" may not be "official" in the sense of having a dictionary entry. However, it is a word that is quite commonly used these days. That alone makes it a legitimate word." And Webster expects that it will be in a future edition of the dictionary based on its common use. Furthermore, when an E-zine used "PDA" in one of its articles, I promptly wrote to the editor and argued the use of public display of affection in its non-lovey dovey (Whoops! I broke another rule.) article about the personal digital assistant. He stated that palmtop was not a word and public display of affection went out long ago. Sorry Charlie, as you saw previously, "palmtop" is acceptable. Now, as for PDA, Sir Webster had a good point that PC has stood for many things from politically correct to Peace Corps and of course, personal computer. He provided all the reasonable doubt I needed and PDA now means love in two ways: expressing love to another and protecting your handheld like the love of your life. In conclusion, review your company's style guide, if it has one. If that fails, check with the dictionary and finally, common sense.

This ain't <duh> no open and shut case

Ms. Meryl - Two Syllables and Not One, was correct in stating that it is "Web site" and not "website." Strangely enough, Mr. Webster complicated matters and didn't even have "Web site" listed! If you can't find a word combination in the dictionary, then it should remain open or you'll go to grammar jail for shutting it. The only Internet-related "Web" I could find was World Wide Web and it is big triple dubyas (in reference to George "dubya" Bush). Thus, this same formula should apply to "Web page" and "web head." As for "webmaster," my source at Webster said that it would likely to be in an upcoming edition as one word. <ed: internet.com uses proper case "Web" when used as one word, like "the Web," or "Web site," but "webmaster," etc are lower case. Some only proper case "the Web" when referred to in its entirety.> Also space out "home page," "end user," "pull down," "drop down," "mouse click," "in box," and "site map." The first two are in the dictionary just as I typed them. The rest aren't listed. Only "homepage" and "mouseclick" were listed in Wired's book and they recommend blending them though traditionalists would argue against this. Very gray area, indeed. Since there's no official word, use common sense and be consistent in your document. The higher authority of lexicography AND Wired recognize these words as shut-ins: "upload," "download," "printout," and "bookmark." Now, are you using "upload" and "download" properly? I admit that I was a total dunce in the beginning about these two terms, but I've since become smart after joining Dilbert's DNRC (if you don't know what that is, then you're an induhvidual!). Anyway, "download" represents what you steal from another computer. In other words, most people downloaded MP3s and few uploaded. But without uploads, you'd have nothing to download! Got it? Good.

Hyphen Hype

Poor "on-line" has been out of line so many times with upper / lower case and minus / plus hyphens. Well, now the little feller (that's three, if you're counting my grammar violations) can cheer up since the Judge Webster said it is hyphenated. It isn't over until the fat lady sings, though. CMS and Wired editors favor "online" and the judge may change the law. The same applies for "E-mail" since it's becoming commonplace in our language that it may be blended to form a real word. Oh, you noticed I capitalized the "E?" That's right, the judge has spoken and he pronounced it "E-mail" and not "e-mail" unless you refer to it as a verb and then it can be "e." Like E-mail, the hyphen applies to E-zine. Actually, it is not listed in the dictionary and I'm not about to write "E space zine" to follow the rule of open up if not in the dictionary. "Dial-up" and "user-friendly" are hyphenated. But Wired skips the dash in "dial up" and says use it as one word when it's an adjective. (Is your head spinning now?) I'll let you decide what to do. Now, for the next weird case: "log on" and "log in" are open, but they are also referenced as "log-in" and "log-on." Like Wired, I think it should be "login" and "logon" and I've got my fingers crossed that the judge will change his mind and just shut the case in the next edition of the dictionary.

Take UR (I plead creative license) URL for a whirl

How many times have you gotten a URL out of a magazine or newspaper and had to enter it multiple times before you got it right? That's what happens when a URL falls at the end of a line and gets cut off and rolled over to the next line (if it isn't already a typo). This is more confusing if there are hyphens in the URL or if the break occurs at a dot. The CMS proposes that you should break after a slash and it's better to place the dot at the beginning of the next line. Also, break the words between syllables and leave out the hyphen. It may help to display URLs differently like using angle brackets <http://webreference.com>. This last suggestion helps avoid ending URLs with a period since the bracket adds sentence protection.

http://www.press.uchicago.edu/Misc/Chicago/cmosfaq.html

About the author:
Meryl Kaplan Evans has been hanging out on the web since 1993 and is still kicking herself for not making the most of her hobby especially when she created her first Web page in that same year. Meryl, two syllables like Cheryl and not one like Merle, currently writes for The Dallas Morning News, is a technical assistant at NYU, develops and maintains various Web sites for nonprofit organizations, is the co-editor of a monthly nonprofit organization's newsletter, and has a part-time job as an analyst with a telecommunications company until something comes along in the Web design world. She can be reached at meryl@onramp.net This article originally appeared in the November 2, 2000 edition of the WebReference Update Newsletter.
Written by Meryl Evans and Copyright 2000 internet.com Corp.
Evans, Meryl K. "The Judge Rules for "E-mail" with a Capital 'E.'"
Webreference. Nov. 2000 <http://webreference.com >