I’m not sure what to make of this announcement from the copy chief of Wired News: It’s Just the ‘internet’ Now.
Effective with this sentence, Wired News will no longer capitalize the “I” in internet.
At the same time, Web becomes web and Net becomes net.
Why? The simple answer is because there is no earthly reason to capitalize any of these words. Actually, there never was.
I’m torn. The former copy editor in me says this deserves serious debate. The realist in me says decisions like this get made over time, by consensus, without ponderous announcements like this one. I suspect that the editors of Wired News are a few years ahead of their time, if not a few decades.
Also, this will drive writers and editors at Wired nuts. If a story quotes another publication, should Internet be capitalized?
Do you care about this?
Ed Bott 