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 Tue Nov 14, 2006 19:42 pm It's pen pals for the internet generation.? |
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Hi Torsten
It seems complete enough to me. It's just extremely short.
What do you find irritating? The "pen pals" part?
Amy
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| Tue Nov 14, 2006 19:44 pm Internet |
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Hi Torsten and Amy,
How about capitalising Internet?
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| Tue Nov 14, 2006 20:01 pm It's pen pals for the internet generation.? |
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In view of the fact that there is more than one internet and also that the word functions as an adjective rather than a noun in the sentence, capitalization doesn't seem necessary to me.
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| Tue Nov 14, 2006 20:06 pm Pen pals |
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Hi Torsten,
Possibly it's the ambiguity of:
| Quote: | | It's pen pals for the internet generation. |
that makes it unsatisfactory for you. In all honesty I don't know precisely what the writer is on about.
A
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| Tue Nov 14, 2006 20:15 pm It's pen pals for the internet generation.? |
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Just one particular quote about capitalising words:
| Quote: | Effective with this sentence, Wired News will no longer capitalize the "I" in internet.
At the same time, Web becomes web and Net becomes net.
Why? The simple answer is because there is no earthly reason to capitalize any of these words. Actually, there never was.
True believers are fond of capitalizing words, whether they be marketers or political junkies or, in this case, techies. If It's Capitalized, It Must Be Important. In German, where all nouns are capitalized, it makes sense. It makes no sense in English. So until we become Die Wired Nachrichten, we'll just follow customary English-language usage. (Web will continue to be capitalized when part of the more official entity, World Wide Web.)
Still, the decision wasn't made lightly. Style changes are rarely capricious, since change plays havoc with the editor's sacred cow, consistency.
But in the case of internet, web and net, a change in our house style was necessary to put into perspective what the internet is: another medium for delivering and receiving information. That it transformed human communication is beyond dispute. But no more so than moveable type did in its day. Or the radio. Or television.
This should not be interpreted as some kind of symbolic demotion. Think of it more as a stylistic reality check.
© It's Just the 'internet' Now |
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| Tue Nov 14, 2006 20:28 pm Internet |
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Hello,
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, 'Internet' is now usually capitalised. The Oxford Dictionary of English tells us that 'Internet' ought to be capitalised. There is, however, a mention in the great OED about 'internet' being used as an adjective. So I suppose you're right, Amy.
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| Tue Nov 14, 2006 21:05 pm Pen pals |
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| Alan wrote: | Hi Torsten,
Possibly it's the ambiguity of:
| Quote: | | It's pen pals for the internet generation. |
that makes it unsatisfactory for you. In all honesty I don't know precisely what the writer is on about.
A |
That's right, Alan. I don't know what it is in this sentence. Also, what pen pals is the author referring to and who belongs to the Internet generation? Grammatically, everything seems fine but it's a bit like saying It's cookies for the kids.
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| Tue Nov 14, 2006 21:08 pm It's pen pals for the internet generation.? |
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| Torsten wrote: | | who belongs to the Internet generation? |
I'm sure at all, but just in case:
| Quote: | | The internet generation is an emerging term in theoretical and popular discourse to denote... |
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_generation
P.S. EDIT: I'm not sure.
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| Tue Nov 14, 2006 21:10 pm It's pen pals for the internet generation.? |
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Hi Tamara, what do you mean by I'm sure at all? That you are very sure or not sure at all?
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| Tue Nov 14, 2006 21:11 pm It's pen pals for the internet generation.? |
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I'm not sure at all.
Sorry my carelessness.
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| Tue Nov 14, 2006 21:13 pm Internet v. internet |
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Hi Tamara,
What about looking words up in a dictionary when you feel uncertain? That's what I do every once in a while.
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| Tue Nov 14, 2006 21:15 pm It's pen pals for the internet generation.? |
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Hi Alan
I agree with you about the ambiguity. Maybe it's context that's missing. 
Amy
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| Tue Nov 14, 2006 21:19 pm It's pen pals for the internet generation.? |
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I think we ought to give a prize to anyone who gives a satisfactory explanation. My problem is how you can relate the Internet to penpals. To me penpals belong to an entirely different generation from that brought up on the Internet. Somehow penpalery and internetery are to me poles apart. I mean after all penpals are part of my generation and as Haihao pointed out I would rank as a great uncle. I'm still smarting from that!! And who knows how old Canadfian 45 is?
A
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