# Web Cite? Since when. **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [December 8, 2000, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/web-cite-since-when/44680 "2000-12-08T20:17:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Anachronism](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e56c9b/32.png) [@Anachronism](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anachronism)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2000, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/web-cite-since-when/44680/1 "2000-12-08T20:17:59Z")
I have noticed in several posts site spelled cite, is this a kewl message board thing or what? All message boards or just this one? Since when? And why wasn’t I, being a cool person, informed of this change;)? ---
**Author:** ![Show\_Biz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/77aa72/32.png) [@Show\_Biz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Show_Biz)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2000, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/web-cite-since-when/44680/2 "2000-12-08T20:36:55Z")
If the names of Rap groups and their popular albums are any indication, poor spelling is indeed considered clever by the very young. ---
**Author:** ![Mars\_Horizon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mars_horizon/32/2804_2.png) [@Mars\_Horizon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mars_Horizon)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2000, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/web-cite-since-when/44680/3 "2000-12-08T20:56:40Z")
**jimshep** , I suspect you are confusing **cite** as in “To quote as an authority or example.” or “To mention or bring forward as support, illustration, or proof” with **site** , as in “The place where anything is fixed; situation; local position; as, the site of a city or of a house.” ---
**Author:** ![Mars\_Horizon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mars_horizon/32/2804_2.png) [@Mars\_Horizon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mars_Horizon)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2000, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/web-cite-since-when/44680/4 "2000-12-08T20:59:49Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted incompletely by Mars Horizon \* > \*\*local position; as, the site of a city or of a house." > \*\* … or web address!! ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2000, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/web-cite-since-when/44680/5 "2000-12-08T21:02:06Z")
Cite and site are two different words. “Cite” is short for “citation,” meaning "evidence to support your point. In books, cites take the form of footnotes/endnotes. On this board, cites can be in the form of footnotes, but they also commonly take the form of a link to another web page. “Site” means “place,” like a construction site. As you know, a web site is a place on the web–a web page. So if Poster X wants more evidence for what Poster Y is saying, X may ask Y for a cite, or a web site that will serve as a cite. When people say “web cite,” I don’t know if they are asking for a cite that can be found on the web or if they are simply making a mistake or typo. So it’s not kewl board-speak. It’s either a request for a specific type of cite or it is a spelling error. ---
**Author:** ![Anachronism](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e56c9b/32.png) [@Anachronism](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anachronism)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2000, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/web-cite-since-when/44680/6 "2000-12-08T21:57:16Z")
Now that I think about it, I usually see cite used as ‘cite a refrence’ but since the refrence is usually a web site it led to my confusion. Thanks for preventing me from looking like an idiot (again).