# When/why did internet become internets? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 9, 2007, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-why-did-internet-become-internets/415018 "2007-08-09T14:54:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2007, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-why-did-internet-become-internets/415018/1 "2007-08-09T14:54:55Z")
The title says it all. I notice alot of people post on messageboards or in chatrooms using the term internets instead of internet. I think it’s used humourously but when and why did this start? ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2007, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-why-did-internet-become-internets/415018/2 "2007-08-09T15:02:29Z")
[The Stupidest Things President George W. Bush Has Ever Said](http://politicalhumor.about.com/cs/georgewbush/a/top10bushisms.htm) > [@](#): > > 1. “I hear there’s rumors on the Internets that we’re going to have a draft.” —second presidential debate, St. Louis, Mo., Oct. 8, 2004 ([Listen to audio clip](http://politicalhumor.about.com/library/blbushism-internets.htm)) ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2007, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-why-did-internet-become-internets/415018/3 "2007-08-09T15:15:05Z")
Aha thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2007, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-why-did-internet-become-internets/415018/4 "2007-08-09T15:58:27Z")
Snerk. Shows how much he knows. Everyone knows it’s now [teh intertubes](http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=intertubes). ---
**Author:** ![PatriotX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c4cdca/32.png) [@PatriotX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatriotX)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2007, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-why-did-internet-become-internets/415018/5 "2007-08-09T16:58:07Z")
niprnet & siprnet iirc these count as “internets” ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2007, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-why-did-internet-become-internets/415018/6 "2007-08-09T19:24:28Z")
Though there are concerns about some governments attempting to form a “closed internet” for example see here: > **[Walling Off The Net](https://www.spacewar.com/reports/Walling_Off_The_Net_999.html)** > > Washington (UPI) Jun 07, 2007 - > One issue that this week's G8 summit will not be addressing is the emergence of a new ideological divide. It is not as sharp as the grim rivalry of the Cold War, but it carries profoundly unpleasant implications for... and a country that sets up its own root servers for name resolution would, in effect, have a separate internet, if I understand it correctly > **[Alternative DNS root](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alternative_DNS_root)** > > The Internet uses the Domain Name System (DNS) to associate numeric computer IP addresses with human-readable names. The top level of the domain name hierarchy, the DNS root, contains the top-level domains that appear as the suffixes of all Internet domain names. The most widely used (and first) DNS root is administered by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). In addition, several organizations operate alternative DNS roots, often referred to as alt roots. These alterna... ---
**Author:** ![marshmallow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@marshmallow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marshmallow)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2007, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-why-did-internet-become-internets/415018/7 "2007-08-09T19:45:28Z")
Click [here](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internets_(colloquialism)) for a more detailed background. Bush has used the word on no less than three separate occasions. [QUOTE=Koxinga] Everyone knows it’s now [teh intertubes](http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=intertubes). [/QUOTE] It’s extremely important we understand it’s not a truck. You can’t just dump stuff on it. ---
**Author:** ![SiouxChief](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d6d6ee/32.png) [@SiouxChief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SiouxChief)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2007, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-why-did-internet-become-internets/415018/8 "2007-08-09T22:07:37Z")
I am certain that President Bush was referring to [IPv4](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ipv4) and [IPv6](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPv6) as implementing two separate internet protocols. So, don’t you feel silly now? You’ve misunderestimated him. ---
**Author:** ![Miscue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8491ac/32.png) [@Miscue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miscue)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2007, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-why-did-internet-become-internets/415018/9 "2007-08-10T00:36:25Z")
[QUOTE=Squink] “I hear there’s rumors on the Internets that we’re going to have a draft.” —second presidential debate, St. Louis, Mo., Oct. 8, 2004 [/QUOTE] I really wish I lived in a country where people also chose to laugh at the abuse of subject-verb agreement in that quote but…well…I don’t. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![neutron\_star](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/51bf81/32.png) [@neutron\_star](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neutron_star)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2007, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-why-did-internet-become-internets/415018/10 "2007-08-10T00:44:27Z")
[QUOTE=SiouxChief] I am certain that President Bush was referring to [IPv4](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ipv4) and [IPv6](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPv6) as implementing two separate internet protocols. So, don’t you feel silly now? You’ve misunderestimated him. [/QUOTE] Exactly! And don’t forget [Internet2](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet2). I swear, it’s like everyone on Earth forgot about the time that GWB really hunkered down, studied like hell, and eventually aced his CCIE. 😃