# Why still uppercase I for internet? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 8, 2009, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-still-uppercase-i-for-internet/488766 "2009-03-08T21:31:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Tamex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ccd318/32.png) [@Tamex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamex)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2009, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-still-uppercase-i-for-internet/488766/21 "2009-03-09T03:19:31Z")
No, not really. According to [the Online Etymology Dictionary](http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=today&searchmode=none), today was spelled as two words (“to day”) until the 16th century and usually “to-day” until the early 20th century. I know I’ve seen it in old books. Hardly hundreds of years before I was born. The hyphen is disappearing other places as well. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2009, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-still-uppercase-i-for-internet/488766/22 "2009-03-09T04:39:35Z")
> [@Tamex](#): > > No, not really. According to [the Online Etymology Dictionary](http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=today&searchmode=none), today was spelled as two words (“to day”) until the 16th century and usually “to-day” until the early 20th century. I know I’ve seen it in old books. Hardly hundreds of years before I was born. The hyphen is disappearing other places as well. Bart: Please don’t call our parents. Chief Wiggum: I’m afraid I have to for hijinks like these. (laughs) Hijinks. A funny word. Three dotted letters in a row. Eddie: Is it hyphenated? Chief Wiggum: It used to be, back in the old days, you know. Of course, every generation hyphenates the way it wants to. Then there’s N’SYNC. What the hell is that? Jump in anytime Eddie, these are good topics. ---
**Author:** ![Caldazar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Caldazar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caldazar)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2009, 8:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-still-uppercase-i-for-internet/488766/23 "2009-03-09T08:07:59Z")
“The Internet” is capitalized because you are specifying a specific internet. A: How did you access that file? B: Over the internet. A: Which one? B. The Internet. Like **tschild** points out, an internet is network of networks. The Internet is the most well-known internet. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2009, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-still-uppercase-i-for-internet/488766/24 "2009-03-09T14:33:20Z")
I use “e-mail” because I don’t want my French readers to think I’m referring to enamel. ---
**Author:** ![Katriona](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/katriona/32/113_2.png) [@Katriona](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Katriona)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2009, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-still-uppercase-i-for-internet/488766/25 "2009-03-09T15:01:31Z")
> [@commasense](#): > > In my book, it’s still Internet, Web site, not website, and e-mail,not email. These are what we use at work, per the Microsoft Manual of Style for Technical Publications. ---
**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:** [March 9, 2009, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-still-uppercase-i-for-internet/488766/26 "2009-03-09T15:07:14Z")
> [@commasense](#): > > I use “e-mail” because I don’t want my French readers to think I’m referring to enamel. Yeah, but if you’re writing in French, it would be _courriel_, for _courrier électronique_ ‘electronic mail’, not ‘email’. (Or is that just a Canada/Québec term?) ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2009, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-still-uppercase-i-for-internet/488766/27 "2009-03-09T15:44:58Z")
I use “E-mail,” because a letter pronounced as the name of the letter should be capitalized and hyphenated - A-level B-ball C-section D-day E-mail F-stop G-man J-school O-ring S-curve T-shirt U-turn X-ray Y-fronts ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2009, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-still-uppercase-i-for-internet/488766/28 "2009-03-09T16:12:32Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > … a letter pronounced as the name of the letter should be capitalized and hyphenated - When did that E-dict come down? I must have missed it. And you’re certainly wrong (or at least universally contradicted) in the case of f-stop, which often appears with an italic lower-case _f_. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2009, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-still-uppercase-i-for-internet/488766/29 "2009-03-09T16:23:18Z")
> [@commasense](#): > > When did that E-dict come down? I must have missed it. (Looking up at forum) This is IMHO, so it came from me. My opinions don’t need authoritative references. ---
**Author:** ![HumanMonkeyGod](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c67d28/32.png) [@HumanMonkeyGod](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HumanMonkeyGod)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2009, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-still-uppercase-i-for-internet/488766/30 "2009-03-11T19:34:56Z")
> [@Caldazar](#): > > “The Internet” is capitalized because you are specifying a specific internet. > > A: How did you access that file? > B: Over the internet. > A: Which one? > B. The Internet. > > Like **tschild** points out, an internet is network of networks. The Internet is the most well-known internet. :dubious: I’ve never heard of anyone using _an_ internet, or being asked which one they used. I don’t see why the fact that there’s one gets it capitalized. Do we live in the Universe? Did you see the Moon last night? etc. email, x-rays etc. have nothing to do with this. It’s not pronounced i-nternet is it? IS IT? :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Spiny\_Norman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@Spiny\_Norman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiny_Norman)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2009, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-still-uppercase-i-for-internet/488766/31 "2009-03-11T20:40:43Z")
> [@HumanMonkeyGod](#): > > :dubious: > I’ve never heard of anyone using _an_ internet, or being asked which one they used. On the other hand, “internetworking” is still commonly used in professional literature to describe the work involved in establishing the links and moving data between two or more networks administered by different entities. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-still-uppercase-i-for-internet/488766.md?page=1)