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On Mon, Dec 30, 2002 at 08:40:43PM +0100, Jan Henning wrote:
> I do not think that it has anything to do with whether using the
> Internet is commonplace. IMHO, you take the train (not the Train)
> because there are any number of trains. On the other hand, you use the
> Internet (not the internet) because there is only one of it. (Just as
> you cannot say "an internet".) Internet does not descrbe a category of
> things, it is a proper name of a unique entity.
I'm catching up on old mail, pardon the lateness of this response.
Your response about why it's 'the Internet' regarding plurality is
spot-on and exactly what I'd have written, had I been able to respond in a
timely fashion. However, it's incorrect to state one cannot have "an
internet". One can indeed: the term "internet" refers to a "network of
networks", which was the state of affairs in the last 70's when ARPANET
became the Internet. There were many computing and networking standards, and
Arpanet/Internet was designed as a common language for them all to use to
facilitate communication and sharing of resources.
Thus, we're all familiar with "the Internet", but there can be, and
are, other internets (Internet2 springs to mind, offhand). It's something of
a rarity, but it's a footnote I feel is worth the nitpick. :)
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