Goodbye Internet, hello internet

AP said it was no longer a proper noun earlier, now others follow

[weeks]

The New York Times tossed in the towel this week, going with the lower case:
[nytimes.com...]

Uppercase “Internet” also reflected a common tendency to capitalize newly coined or unfamiliar terms. Once a term becomes familiar and quotidian, there is a tendency to drop the capital letter.

In other words, you're getting old.

I've told this story before, but 2001 I was the newspaper editor in a small town. I said internet was lower case. We had one new recent grad staffer who had a fit, waving around the AP Stylebook. My sports writer (who was tough as nails, having spent some time in prison) agreed with me and was having trouble engaging his "anger management" lessons. The newbie asked me how I could justify my rule. I explained it, "I'm the editor. I make the rules." I became the sports writer's hero, and the kid learned a worthwhile journalism lesson.

[LifeinAsia]

Once a term becomes familiar and quotidian, there is a tendency to drop the capital letter.

I guess that means we should start using "the new york times" from now on...

I look forward to the day when I can be sitting on my porch and telling the local kids, "Yeah, back in my day we used to capitalize 'Internet.' Now get off my lawn!"

[engine]

Is it laziness?

I world imagine that in a developing language it would be adapted to meet the demands of today's Net users.

[graeme_p]

It is a similar term to "world" or "universe" which are not usually capitalised.

[tangor]

I swing both ways. Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. :)

The web (which used to be capped, too) is an activity, not a place.

[weeks]

Once a term becomes familiar and quotidian, there is a tendency to drop the capital letter.–NYT

I guess that means we should start using "the new york times" from now on...–LifeinAsia

Yeah, I'd be interested in seeing a case where a term became "familiar" and lost its capital letter. A common noun is a common noun, folks.

[ergophobe]

>>I'm the editor. I make the rules.

Shouldn't it be "I'm the editor. I write *our* style manual?"