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Subject:online or on-line From:David Ibbetson <ibbetson -at- IDIRECT -dot- COM> Date:Thu, 8 Feb 1996 08:33:13 -0500
Joyce Flaherty complains about a publicity department changing Online to
On-line and asks for comments.
Around 1963 in the UK, the company I had recently joined issued a programme
in which this spelling occurred in a variety of help messages. The technical
writers had heard that the word was now to be spelled program. So without
reference to the programmers they changed the manual at the proof stage! In
those daysI was head of at eam of programmers and doubled as technical help.
Our programmers comments were exceedingly rude. Not one customer commented
on the discrepancy!
David (who is now living with a thaw by day and freeze by night regime) Ibbetson
