[ih] ARPANET vs ARPAnet?

[Vint Cerf]

I generally prefer ARPANET, but I also prefer Internet to internet when referring to the public network. It would be nice to have a definitive statement about the spelling of ARPANET.

-----Original Message-----
From: internet-history-bounces at postel.org
To: internet-history at postel.org; rfc-interest at rfc-editor.org
CC: jnc at mercury.lcs.mit.edu; rfc-editor at rfc-editor.org
Sent: Wed Oct 04 12:24:24 2006
Subject: Re: [ih] ARPANET vs ARPAnet?

    > The RFC Editor needs to make an editorial decision on capitalization of
    > "arpanet". This is such an important historical name that we felt a
    > need to think a bit about it.

:-)

    > Here is my memory: we originally called it "ARPANET"

You're right on target there. All the original documentation (1822, etc)
which I hurriedly consulted (i.e. the ones on shelves which are convenient to
the computer :-) uses "ARPANET". (FWIW, the very earliest document, the
original RFP, used "ARPA Computer Network", and the BBN response to the RFP
used "ARPA network".)

    > but over the years there has been a tendency to morph the name to
    > "ARPAnet".
    > Any opinions? Preferences?

I always preferred (and used) the CamelCase variant; i.e. "ARPANet", with the
ARPA in all upper-case because it's an acronym that was always given as all
caps. Somehow "ARPAnet" bugged me, with the "net" all in lowercase; and
ARPANET (although historically correct) didn't suit me either. I can't offer
any rational argument as to why the other two are less tasteful (to me), but
then that's the nature of taste! :-)

    > IEEE style guide says "Arpanet: the oldest of the networks on the
    > Internet; initial capital only"

Uggh. *Totally* bletchiferous. Worse than all three of the other options, any
of which I would *much* prefer to this.

And how do we straighten out the IEEE? Would pointing out that all the
original documents use "ARPANET" do the trick?

	Noel