RE: Do you log on or logon to a website?

["Hadley, Tim" <tim -dot- hadley -at- ttu -dot- edu>]

Lisa asks, >Do users log onto, on to, into, or in to a website? Or do users logon or
login to a website.
 
Technically speaking, Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 11th Edition (I think it's the latest) gives "log on" (or log in)--that is, 2 words, no hyphen--as the verb form, and "log-on"--the hyphenated form--as the noun. This is the fairly standard dictionary treatment, I think, though  "logon," the no-hyphen form, is also widely accepted as the noun form. As for whether to use "on" or "in," I don't think it matters.
 
What is not correct, imho, but is unfortunately very widely seen, is the use of "logon" (non-hyphenated) and similar forms as a verb. Perhaps these distinctions have already moved beyond my dictionary-headed mind set, though I think of myself as hip and with it and willing to change with the times. But so far, "logon" as a verb still grates unacceptably. As Jesse Ventura might say, Do I stand alone? To me, "log on" is a verb and "log-on" is a noun.
 
Tim
 
Tim Hadley
Graduate Assistant, Graduate School Fellowships and Scholarships
Ph.D. candidate, Technical Communication and Rhetoric
Texas Tech University

 

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