QUESTION:
Is it still correct to write Web site as two words? And should Web
be capped? I've started to see the word written as website.
ANSWER:
For the time being, Web site is the form most commonly seen. The
form website is not incorrect. Indeed, many compound computer terms
start off as two words or as a hyphenated term and ultimately become written
as one word (for example, online). However, on the basis of current
usage, Website isn't there yet.
As for dropping the capital W, are you also prepared to write the world wide web or simply the web? If you want to maintain a consistent style for Web words, retain the capital W until the prevailing usage indicates that a majority of these terms have lost their initial cap.
QUESTION:
What about the term e-mail? I've started to see it written
solid—email. Is it okay to write it that way?
ANSWER:
It's always best not to make a style decision by looking at a single word
in isolation. Are you prepared to write all the other e- words
solid as well—for example, e-commerce, e-money,
e-tailing, and e-lancing (doing freelance work
on the Internet)? Speaking for myself, I won't recommend dropping the
hyphen in e- words until I see good evidence that doing so is becoming
widespread industry usage.
QUESTION:
Isn't it wrong to end a sentence with a preposition?
ANSWER:
Ending a sentence with a preposition is not incorrect. Whether you do
so or not should depend on the emphasis and effect you want to achieve.
INFORMAL: I wish I knew which magazine her article appeared in.NOTE: Many people are familiar with Sir Winston Churchill's complaint to an editor who tried to discourage him from ending his sentences with prepositions:
FORMAL: I wish I knew in which magazine her article appeared.
This is the sort of English up with which I will not put.At the other extreme is a sentence that probably takes the prize for piling the greatest number of prepositions at the end. It is the complaint of a small child who does not want to listen to a particular bedtime story:
What did you bring that book I don't want to be read to out of in for?Both these examples reinforce the main point:
Use good sense in deciding whether or not to end a sentence with a preposition.
BETTER THAN: Use good sense in deciding whether or not to use a preposition to end a sentence with.
QUESTION:
What is the proper way to refer aloud to the class of 2000?
ANSWER:
There is still no consensus on how to refer aloud to academic classes
in the first decade of the twenty–first century. On the basis of
the style commonly used at the start of the twentieth century, the class
of 2004 (or '04) could be referred to aloud as "the class of aught–four"
or "the class of naught–four." The more challenging question is
how to refer to the class of '00. One solution is simply to say "the class
of two thousand." Other suggestions currently in circulation include "the
class of aughty–aught," "the class of naughty–naught," "the
double–ohs," "the oh–ohs," and even "the uh–ohs." In
time, one expression will probably become established through usage as
the dominant form. Until then feel free to choose (or devise) whatever
form appeals to you.
QUESTION:
And how should one refer to the first decade of the twenty–first
century?
ANSWER:
There is still no consensus on how to refer to the first decade of the
twenty–first century. One possibility is the aughts (the
term used to refer to the first decade of the twentieth century). Among
the other suggestions currently circulating are the ohs, the
zeros, the zips, the naughties, and the preteens.
Until one expression becomes established through usage as the dominant
term, it may be safest to refer simply to the first decade of the twenty–first
century.
QUESTION:
Which is it: one space or two after a period at the end of a sentence?
ANSWER:
Now that the standards of desktop publishing typically apply to all documents
produced by computer, the use of one space is recommended after the punctuation
that occurs at the end of a sentence. Yet this standard should not be
mechanically applied.
In all cases, the deciding factor should be the appearance of the breaks between sentences in a given document. If the use of one space does not provide enough of a visual break, use two spaces instead.
For a fuller discussion of this topic and a number of illustrations showing the difference between using one space or two, see ¶102.
