Look at these very reasonable words – television, radio, typewriter, book, pen and paper. Now look at these – World Wide Web, Net and worst of all – Internet.

It’s far from a new argument but it’s time we revisited the fight to rid the web of the remaining bastions that choose to capitalize internet. There’s no reason for it and simply reinforces notions of the internet as a place (to go) rather than a way (of communicating).

Besides, it annoys me.

Much of the world has already caught up. The 1996 book Wired Style: Principals of English in the Digital Age dictated that internet should be capitalized. It took them a surprising eight years to back down. But back down they did.

Rupert Murdoch’s News Limited (Australian) papers and websites seem to have their house in order. Fairfax’s news websites are inconsistent in capitalization, which looks like an editorial move towards lowercase, with the odd journo forgetting and it slipping through the subbing process.

Australia’s ABC however, is still stuck in the dark ages with what looks a pretty solid editorial line mandating the capitalization of internet. This is despite them recently doing a major makeover on their website making it one of the most interactive and sticky new sites in Australia. I think they will be my first target.

If you’re keen to help, start targeting offending websites with an email or two, just to keep them honest. Write to your local elected representative. If you’re on Facebook, come and join our group: Fighting for a lowercase internet.

Time to get your Newspapers and Websites in order folks. There’s a posse coming.