URLs in spoken form

In My Humble Opinion
21

Dots, sometimes dubyas.
US.
Nope.

22
  1. I say the dots.
  2. US.
  3. Nope.
23

For me it’s not a matter of the other person’s familiarity with the Internet. It’s mostly a matter of how well-known the site is, and what sounds best to the ear.

I’ll call Amazon, Slashdot, and The Onion by their names, sans the “dot com”. It’s understood that I’m referring to websites.

With sources like my hometown’s newspaper or ESPN, I’ll say “dot com” if I mean the online version and not the TV or print version.

If I’m telling someone the URL (so they can go there), then I’ll spell out the URL with the dots. So a site would be “www dot randomsite dot com”. This is the only time I’d let someone’s familiarity with the 'net dictate how I pronounce the URL. If they’re proficient, then I’ll omit the “www”.

(The possible hassle with this is that some sites aren’t configured so that domain.com will lead you to the site-- it has to be www.domain.com. In the book Son of Web Pages That Suck, adobe.com’s website was one of those that didn’t work if you didn’t have the “www”. It’s since been fixed.)

Omitting the “dot” when giving a URL sounds weird to me, like there’s a syllable missing. To me, saying “espn dot go dot com” sounds more natural than “espn go com”.

I’m from the US, and I’m not in IT.

24

  1. I say the dots, but usually not the www.

  2. US.

  3. No, I work in finance.

25

1.) I say the dots, and (usually) the dubyas.

2.) US, born and raised.

3.) Nope–I’m a college student English major, although I do have a webmastering job that I actually get paid for.

26
  1. I say the dots. I even say H T T P colon slash slash
  2. us borned and raised
  3. Nope, biotechnology major, but i’m minoring in Computer Science.
27

I say the dots…I have since I first saw a computer. In fact, I have never heard anyone not say the dots. And, yes…I’m an American.

Technically, I work in IT, though I don’t make what an IT guy would make…plus, I’m more versatile (meaning I still have a job).

28
  1. I say the dots and the dubdubdub if it necessary
  2. Western Canada
  3. Yup. Helpdesk for a University

I have never heard someone give an actual URL without the dots. They might refer to a site in general like Amazon or Yahoo or whatever but if you say what’s the URL they will invariably say amazon dot com or dubdubdub dot etc…

29

  1. fathom.org/jjtm = “fathom dot oh arr jee slash jay jay tee em,” since most people know about “http://” (and most browsers don’t require it anyway) and the “www” is rarely necessary.

  2. USA

  3. Nope.

30

Another Aussie.

  1. Dub-dub-dub dot straightdope dot com.
  2. Born here and will liekly die here
  3. IT for 16 years.
31
  1. I say the dots, and usually the Ws. I think that saying “double yoo” three times in a row is a lot though, and people should start saying “triple W”.
  2. USA all my life
  3. No.
32
  1. Dots
  2. USA
  3. Used to
33
  1. dub dub dub dot straightdope dot com.

I’m not sure where you are getting your statistic that most in the US don’t use the “dots”. Many sites now have complex names with several dots. Just because there is a perceived word break doesn’t mean you automatically insert a dot.

IE requires the three dubs on my machine anyway. If I don’t type it, it starts some wacko MS search engine crap.

And for the record, I also find dubya dubya dubya cumbersome and shorten it to dub dub dub when talking but I have to stop myself from continuing with “three men in a tub”. :smiley:

  1. USA

  2. Not on your life!

34

  1. I say the dots. I don’t say the w’s. I often will drop the ending “.com” entirely, especially for common sites. If someone knows you’re giving a url, it’s assumed that it ends in .com

  2. USA

  3. Student of Computer Science.

35

So far, everybody says the dots. And everyone I know does too. I don’t think you’re going to find anyone who doesn’t. I’ve gotten pretty good at saying “H T T P colon slash slash”, and can do it in about 1.5 seconds, so I do it when I can. :smiley:

36

Recently I saw a few commercials on a tape recorded in 1996, and every URL was spelled out with the http:// and everything. It took forever.

Not to hijack, but has anybody heard COMMAND.COM pronounced “command dot com”? That drives me nuts.

37

  1. I am pro-dot.

  2. USA

  3. I work in IT.

38

Genie! :wink:

39

I’m Canadian, and I pronounce a url as follows:

http-colon-slash-slash-dub-dub-dub-dot-straightdope-dot-com.

(In French, it’s ash-tay-tay-pay-deuxpoints-deux-barres-obliques-double-v-double-v-double-v-point-metrodemontreal-point-com.)

40

I assumed he was being phonetic (and may or may not know that).

FTR, I spell it out in full, (uk, non-it) since I can’t find a shorter, non-ambiguous way. Wish I could, though.