[ih] 'internet' and "Internet"

[Lori Emerson]

Hi all, just to chime in from Lurker Land, I've thought for awhile it's
also (or more?) interesting to consider how and why the two terms have
become conflated in the same way that internet (which incidentally certain
formats like MLA have determined should now always be lower case) has
become conflated with the web. I don't blame reporters or writers - I think
it's more reflective of a general, depressing shift toward homogeneity
since the 1970s.

yours, Lori

On Tue, Aug 8, 2023 at 9:16 AM John Levine via Internet-history <
internet-history at elists.isoc.org> wrote:

> It appears that Noel Chiappa via Internet-history <jnc at mercury.lcs.mit.edu>
> said:
> >    > From: "John Levine" <johnl at iecc.com>
> >
> >    > You know, sometimes it's time to let go.
> > ...
>
> >The fact that 'ordinary' people (such as the afore-mentioned idiots at the
> >AP) are confused in their terminology is not relevant. ...
>
> I understand the difference, but in retrospect, it wasn't a great idea
> to come up with two terms with different meanings that differ only in
> capitalization. (How does one pronounce internet and Internet?)
>
> Rather than telling the entire world that they are stupid, which is
> not a great way to change minds, perhaps we can come up with a snappy
> memorable term for a disconnected group of networks that exchange IP
> packets that doesn't look and sound exactly like a word that means
> something else. As already noted, there are lots of them in the IoT
> world, at least I hope there are.
>
> R's,
> John
>
> PS: Of course, XKCD has something to say on this topic:
>
> https://xkcd.com/1984/
> --
> Internet-history mailing list
> Internet-history at elists.isoc.org
> https://elists.isoc.org/mailman/listinfo/internet-history
>


-- 
Lori Emerson, KFØLCB | she/her/they/them
Associate Professor | Media Studies Department
Director | Intermedia Arts, Writing, and Performance Program
Director | Media Archaeology Lab
University of Colorado Boulder
Traditional territories of the Arapaho, Cheyenne, and Ute Nations
@loriemerson at postlurk.org <https://post.lurk.org/@loriemerson> |
loriemerson.net | mediaarchaeologylab.com