# So, are we still capitalizing "internet"? Why did we ever? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 23, 2009, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-are-we-still-capitalizing-internet-why-did-we-ever/514915 "2009-10-23T23:52:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Stan\_Shmenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/94ad74/32.png) [@Stan\_Shmenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stan_Shmenge)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2009, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-are-we-still-capitalizing-internet-why-did-we-ever/514915/1 "2009-10-23T23:52:44Z")
Geek grammer question. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2009, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-are-we-still-capitalizing-internet-why-did-we-ever/514915/2 "2009-10-24T00:19:35Z")
“The Internet” is a proper name for the worldwide internet that billions of people use. The usage is similar to Britons referring to “The Continent” when referring to mainland Europe. (It’s not just any internet, or any continent…). Uncapitalized, “internet” refers to any set of connected networks, whether they are part of the worldwide Internet or not. ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2009, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-are-we-still-capitalizing-internet-why-did-we-ever/514915/3 "2009-10-24T02:07:02Z")
A thread from last year: > **[Is 'internet' a proper noun or not???](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=469290)** > > I don’t capitalize it. I’m getting sick of Microsoft Word flagging it and suggesting Internet. So which is it? Capitalized or not? ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2009, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-are-we-still-capitalizing-internet-why-did-we-ever/514915/4 "2009-10-24T03:00:36Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > Uncapitalized, “internet” refers to any set of connected networks, whether they are part of the worldwide Internet or not. Repeating my post in the thread from last year, any network (not necessarily two connected ones) using TCP/IP protocol (not just any network) would be called an “internet” because that’s the name coined for the protocol. That is the historical view; I will duck the issue of whether it should continue to be capitalized. ---
**Author:** ![Fubaya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@Fubaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fubaya)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2009, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-are-we-still-capitalizing-internet-why-did-we-ever/514915/5 "2009-10-24T03:22:19Z")
It’s certainly capitalized in this news [video](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1A9lYC3g-0) which is obviously dated to pre September That Never Ended. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2009, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-are-we-still-capitalizing-internet-why-did-we-ever/514915/6 "2009-10-24T12:07:50Z")
Compare: The White House vs. the white house down the street. When you are writing about a specifically named item, you capitalize. That’s why God created proper nouns and no other god did. Names have big juju. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2009, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-are-we-still-capitalizing-internet-why-did-we-ever/514915/7 "2009-10-24T12:46:26Z")
I capitalise a lot of nouns; it is (I believe) a Victorian convention that allowed the reader’s eye to be drawn to Important Or Notable Things in the text. Also, there’s really only one The Internet- at least, there’s only one Internet that the average person will think of- and so, like Parliament House, it gets capitalised. ---
**Author:** ![JustThinkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@JustThinkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JustThinkin)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2009, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-are-we-still-capitalizing-internet-why-did-we-ever/514915/8 "2009-10-24T16:21:40Z")
AFAIK – very much debated still. I’ve seen some style guides that capitalize and some that don’t. Personally, I think both internet and web have become such generic terms that they really can’t be considered proper nouns any more. ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2009, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-are-we-still-capitalizing-internet-why-did-we-ever/514915/9 "2009-10-24T16:25:59Z")
That’s why “I” is capitalized, as there can be only one, whereas “you” or “he” can refer to any. At least that’s how it seems to Me. ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2009, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-are-we-still-capitalizing-internet-why-did-we-ever/514915/10 "2009-10-26T05:31:05Z")
No, “I” is capitalized because “i” is easy to lose in manuscripts full of run-together words and inkspots. After reliable typesetting became the rule, and even handwritten documents were mostly well-spaced, the capital “I” simply didn’t go away. I rather suspect the same reasons apply to “why did people used to capitalize so many words that don’t seem to deserve it?” ---
**Author:** ![Francis\_Vaughan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/francis_vaughan/32/3093_2.png) [@Francis\_Vaughan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Francis_Vaughan)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2009, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-are-we-still-capitalizing-internet-why-did-we-ever/514915/11 "2009-10-26T11:20:54Z")
> [@JustThinkin](#): > > Personally, I think both internet and web have become such generic terms that they really can’t be considered proper nouns any more. That is sort of the critical point. They are not generics. They might be commonly used, but that is like saying The Earth is a common term and thus a generic. None of them are generic because there is only one of each of them. A commonly referenced name is not the same as generic name. The Internet is the world wide interconnection of computers using TCP/IP. If your computer is on The Internet, it will have been allocated a unique address (or at least your connection device will have so allocated.) The World Wide Web, or just The Web, is the set of all services reachable via the http protocol on The Internet. You can have internets, and you can have webs. Typically in secure areas, or just very lonely places. These are generics. ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2009, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-are-we-still-capitalizing-internet-why-did-we-ever/514915/12 "2009-10-26T13:11:02Z")
Am I being whooshed by the misspelling in the op? ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2009, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-are-we-still-capitalizing-internet-why-did-we-ever/514915/13 "2009-10-26T13:46:36Z")
> [@Snarky\_Kong](#): > > Am I being whooshed by the misspelling in the op? Nah. The schwa phoneme in typical American dialects simply does not do enough to reinforce the actual spelling. The same thing happens, a lot, with the word sep **a** rate.