Terms with idiosyncratic spelling for which all mnemonics fail. You’ll probably have to look up eBay so you can get it right for an article you’re writing about online auction sites—and remember to capitalize it when it starts a sentence.The folks who toil in the trenches writing code or developing new hardware don’t mind being called geeks; it’s a badge of honor. Nor do they flinch at the jargon that identifies them as insiders and bewilders us outsiders—that’s one of the functions of jargon. When you encounter geekspeak, pause for a moment. Can you provide enough context to guide your readers to its meaning without plain-Englishing the flavor and exactitude out of it? If you can, please do.
If you were writing about any niche—cowhands, Marines, politicians—you wouldn’t purge their speech of anything that wasn’t standard English. Rather, you would use their idiosyncratic vocabulary to give a vivid picture of their work.
The fact is that we’ve all picked up more tech terms than we probably realize from accumulated years of exposure to computers, digital music and TV, the Web, e-mail, and other aspects of the wired life.
Many tech-offshoot terms have become mainstreamed so smoothly that we don’t hear them as jargon any longer. When the first edition of this book came out, offline was defined as “disconnected and unable to receive data,” “the noncomputerized world,” or, informally, “time spent away from computers and the Internet, and unreachable by e-mail.” Now going offline can mean shutting down a Web site or server for temporary maintenance, or discontinuing a blog or online business for good. We’ve also heard it used jokingly to mean “going on vacation” and “leaving work.”
But how, when you’re not personally familiar with the terms, can you tell the difference between true jargon that needs editing and acceptable idiomatic expressions? Well, if you see that a word contains recognizable parts of other familiar words (cognates), you’re probably safe to leave the term to stand on its own in context. For example, people are likely to understand that infotainment has something to do with both news and entertainment. But what about webrary? You may not think it sounds euphonious, but it would be silly to place an explanatory “Web library” in parentheses for most audiences.
Along with every other industry, print publishing—traditionally somewhat conservative and not terribly fond of technology for its own sake—has been waffling when it comes to “allowing” new terms and the more contemporary forms of evolving terms. Frankly, many Internet publishers are more interested in how well graphics, links, and information architecture work than in whether their Web content contains erratic, contradictory spellings like policymaking, policy-makers, and policy driven.
Somewhere between the editorially conservative and radically unruly zones is where most of us are trying to strike a balance. Guess what? That’s more work than either extreme. Of course you’ll want to ensure the integrity of the text. Ignoring mechanical inconsistencies signals carelessness or a lack of professional savvy that may be symptomatic of more substantial errors of fact, logic, and analysis. Rein in the “clean-up reflex” when it comes to new terms until you’ve researched them and are certain there’s a better way to express the ideas they’re trying to convey.
With so much usage in flux, a rigid insistence on old-fashioned style is neither necessary nor advisable—as, for example, always revising new -ize terms like incentivize and “nouned” verbs like transition and grow.
Some usages are now widely acceptable but still controversial. For example, some editors swear that never on their watch will a writer get away with the third-person plural pronoun to refer inclusively to both genders—as in this example: Each editor must make their own decision about the relative merits of bias-free language, terms of art, and strict grammaticality. Other editors allow the “singular their” as a smoother workaround than “his or her.” The point is to keep up acceptable alternatives rather than trying to enforce hard-and-fast rules.
Perhaps the biggest challenge is the variant forms on their way to convergence sooner or later, one way or another. When you have to choose among alternative forms, someone will think you’re wrong no matter what you decide.
The names of charities, nonprofits, and government agencies, bureaus, and departments contain old-fashioned spellings that can’t be easily changed, but the publications professionals who work for them try to use updated spellings in their content, even if those spellings don’t match the formal, legally mandated name. So be it; editorial consistency is a goal—but almost nowhere is it achieved 100 percent.
Webster’s Collegiate lists fundraising as a solid term, so when the chief professional organization of fundraisers was poised for a stem-to-stern repositioning, including a new name, a new spelling could be justified as in keeping with contemporary style. The organization’s acronym went from NSFRE (National Society of Fund Raising Executives—with a hyphen as an adjective in text but not in the official name) to AFP (Association of Fundraising Professionals).
Of course, when AFP’s magazine and Web site are referring to literature of the field from all over the globe, fundraising, fund raising, and fund-raising will still be all over the place; retroactive editing of the spelling of evolving words in previously published documents isn’t acceptable or feasible.
Publications that report news are in a similar fix; for example, dictionaries report that the consensus is to spell airline solid. But a quote attributed to a spokesperson from the Air Line Pilots Association (in the same Washington Post article that mentions the Airline Pilots Security Alliance) ignores that guidance. Further, ALPA’s acronym would become APA if it were updated for the spelling of airline—and there are already lots of APAs, so the discrepancy is probably an enduring fact of life.
This phenomenon is what EEI Press editors call perceived inconsistency: Someone is making conscientious editorial decisions that may, however, look like inconsistent treatments. The cure for this is a fatalistic shrug and a note in your style guide about such deliberate departures from contemporary style.
And as the new gets old, some older, simpler terms may start looking better and better. We have to keep watching new-media terms to see whether they’re “nonce” terms—just for now—or have legs and will end up in dictionaries. Now that we’ve all heard about repurposing content, some of us wonder why we don’t flag that word as tedious jargon for reusing, recycling, or the more accurate multipurposing. We’ve already mentioned the extreme (as in Extreme Home Makeover) school of hype. More commonly, the prefixes e, i, and cyber are overused in farfetched coinages: e-prayer, iSuccess-zine, cyberrific.
The one thing you can count on is the steady evolution toward down style, a trend toward omitting optional but unnecessary and possibly intrusive capitalization and punctuation. You’ll find a related discussion in the Chicago Manual of Style’s distinction between open (omitting discretionary commas) and closed punctuation. But the point of down style is not the abandonment of rules; it is to simplify what is already correct on the premise that even simpler is even better—more readily accessible to readers.
Here are the types of terms that you need to keep an eye on, look up in one of the major or specialized dictionaries, make decisions about, and add to your proprietary style guide. Make it a habit to check with the “Words to Watch” list on the eeicom.com/press/istyle companion site for this book. Recommendations and observations on evolving usage and new jargon, pooled by EEI Press editors, will give you a starting point. But realize that, when major authorities disagree, the best you can do is choose the style most consonant with your main style guide and most likely to suit your audience.
These are the main categories into which editorial challenges fall:
Terms with idiosyncratic spelling for which all mnemonics fail. You’ll probably have to look up eBay so you can get it right for an article you’re writing about online auction sites—and remember to capitalize it when it starts a sentence.
Preferred, acceptable, evolving, and problematic usage of new terms as nouns, verbs, and modifiers. You don’t want to be one of those people with pursed lips rapping the knuckles of your coworkers for saying “E-mail me” instead of “Send me an e-mail note,” do you? Or will you cheer them on to all sorts of e-verbs such as e-leverage? Decide where the comfort zone is for you and your organization on the spectrum of innovative terms.
Terms with arbitrary style treatments, including commonly used abbreviations, acronyms, and initialisms. A good number of new-media words, especially prefixed by the notorious, glorious e, i, and cyber words, are coined for marketing purposes or are proprietary names and trademarks. Record the ones you use most often. Accept that complete consistency is impossible.
Terms that are best left unchanged—even if they strike you as too informal or jargonish—as long as they are clear in context. It marks you as old-fashioned to try to turn every Web- and computing-related idiom into quasi-formal English. Many words on the fringe as we write this guide will become household words before long.
When corporate publications, marketing materials, and Web content contain a lot of special terms and reflect the style preferences of many different authors, it’s important to create and enforce an in-house style guide. Key areas in which to make consistent decisions include capitalization, punctuation, spelling, and preferred usage for enforcing trademarks and other proprietary names.
For example, one of your guidelines might be “Don’t use e-mousetraps as generic shorthand; use eMousetrap rodent control devices.” (By the way, when we wrote that mousetrap example, it was imaginary. But just to be safe, we did a search and discovered that it’s indeed a trademark. Scary how thin the dividing line has become between the real and the theoretical.)
When in doubt, look for precedents. Trust yourself to intervene (or not) as called for when you can’t find them. And once you’ve made a decision, record it so you don’t have to go through the same song-and-dance again.
Here’s a selection of tech terms that have become common—in some cases, too common. Keep on eye on how they’re being used, and you’ll glean some facts about the computing and online world that will help you sound a less fractious alarm the next time you’re confronted with geekspeak (which can be actually be pretty clever).
24/7 (adj., adv.) Used to indicate a service or source that’s available around the clock, 24 hours a day, seven days a week—usually via the Internet. “Our customer service department is open 24/7 to serve you.” Also written 24-7, 24 x 7 and—awkwardly—twenty-four seven (the “Tina Turner Twenty-Four Seven Millennium Tour”). Note: This is just a jauntier way of saying “Open 24 hours” and “Open All Night,” and it connotes online availability rather than a pharmacy or coffee shop.
access (n.) To have or gain access refers to the privilege or right to use a computer resource. “All employees have access to the company intranet.” (v.) To access means to be able to gain access to data, a system, or processes. Note: Many conservative editors consider the verb access jargon in need of a specific translation: “She couldn’t access the extra key” means she couldn’t find it.
accessible (adj.) Accessible features and operating controls have been designed for easy use by people with disabilities (visual, physical, or mental impairments): wheelchair-accessible. In a new-media context, accessible may also describe the degree to which features can be taken advantage of by nonnative English speakers and Internet users from developing countries who have very slow dial-up speeds. In these senses, accessible has become a euphemism.
analog (adj.) New-technology writing often uses the contrasting terms analog and digital. Most of creation breaks down into either analog or digital, and as the world sweeps toward an increasingly digital age, it is important to know the difference. Analog processes represent data as variables that vary continuously rather than discretely. Digital processes are represented by numerical values—at the most basic, 1 or 0 (for on or off). They also represent a finite number of values. For example, a digital watch display leaps from one number to the next; it displays a finite number of variables (times of the day). In contrast, an analog watch (the old-fashioned kind with hands that move) represents an infinite number of variables as its hands sweep around the dial. Most modern computers are digital; human beings are analog.
analog-to-digital converter (ADC) (n.) Hyphenated. Also called an A-D or A-to-D converter. Watch the news for this acronym in the run-up to 2008’s mandated conversion of analog TV signals to digital-only.
authoring (v.) To author still means to write an article or a book, but it has the new-media connotation of creating an online application such as a multimedia presentation, help system, or computer-based training program. (adj.) Authoring tools, authoring system, authoring language, authoring program.
B2B (adj.) Short for business-to-business, meaning business that is transacted between businesses, rather than from business to consumer. This abbreviation is also seen as b-to-b and B-to-B. Related: B2C (business-to-consumer) and P2P (peer-to-peer).
bricks-and-mortar (adj.) In cyber-jargon, bricks-and-mortar (also seen as brick-and-mortar) refers to business conducted in a physical office, building, or retail store, as opposed to an operation existing exclusively on the Web, which is called a clicks-and-mortar store—see that entry. These terms are dated, and many businesses have both an online and a land presence.
cellular phone (n.) Synonyms include cell phone, cellular telephone, digital phone, mobile phone, and cell. Cell phone is commonly accepted; cellular telephone is overly formal for most contexts.
clicks-and-mortar (adj.) Clicks-and-mortar is a play on bricks-and-mortar. A bricks-and-mortar store has a tangible physical presence, as opposed to a store operating totally online. Clicks-and-mortar has most often been used to refer to businesses that have both an online and a physical (storefront) business presence. But it’s also used to describe retail stores that feature Web kiosks and make Web site transactions available to customers while they’re physically in the store. “Clicks-and-mortar companies offer consumers several options for merchandise returns.”
clickstream (n.) The pattern of mouse clicks a user makes while working on a computer or navigating through sites on the Web. The clickstream shows, for example, the path the user took to navigate through a Web site or between Web sites. Note: Follows the pattern for mainstream and downstream.
clickthrough (n.) Clickthrough is a Web advertising term for when a person clicks on an Internet banner ad and triggers the associated hyperlink that leads to more information. (adj.) The clickthrough rate refers to the percentage of viewers of a Web banner ad who clicked on the ad. Note: Follows the pattern set by clickstream, but creates a perceived inconsistency if your style is followthrough rather than followthrough.
co-locate (v.) In the wired world, to co-locate one’s Web server means to locate it physically on another company’s Internet-connected network. (n.) co-location. (adj.) a co-location facility, co-location service. Sometimes spelled colocate or colocation. This word is frequently misspelled as collocation, which means to place or group together. Note: Look both spellings up in a dictionary to see how confusing such distinctions can be for style-guide users. That’s why specific examples are so helpful in a guide.
content forward (n.) The philosophy that the editorial mission of a Web site—the audience it serves and the types of content delivered—should drive the graphic design and functionality built into the site. Too often, design and technical functionality are used as substitutes for meeting audience expectations. Making a site pretty, fast, and full of gee-whiz technology should never be a substitute for making it timely, topical, and persistently relevant. Meaningful content truly is what people seek and what technology serves but cannot alone provide.
convergence (n.) In the realm of information technology, convergence refers to the combining of computer, communications, and consumer electronics technologies. (adj.) A good example of convergent technology is a cell phone with information-sharing features like a GPS, Internet access, instant messaging, and a camera.
cross-post (v.) To cross-post means to post the same message to several different newsgroups or mailing lists at about the same time.
cyber- words (n., v.) Originally from cybernetics, the cut form cyber is usually attached to words to add the cachet of being computerized, electronic, or Internet-based. Most cyber- terms are closed compounds such as cyberbuck, cybercafe, cybercash, cybercommerce, cyberculture, cybercop, cyberfeminism, cyberlawyer, cybernaut, cyberpiracy, cybersex, cyberspace, cybersquat, cybersurfer, cyberworld. At times, open compounds are clearer and more attractive: cyber economy, cyber investor.
data (n.) In purely statistical or scientific usage, data is a plural (or count) noun meaning “pieces of information.” Datum is the singular. But data is widely and increasingly acceptable in a collective (or mass noun rather than count noun) sense used with a singular verb. That’s using data journalistically to mean “cumulative bits of information.” When data means “information stored electronically,” we recommend using data in its singular sense, with a singular verb: “The data was restored from the backup disk.” Certainly we would say, “The data is corrupt” rather than “The data are corrupt,” unless we are statisticians.
data- Compounds formed from the word data are almost always open or hyphenated, whether used as nouns, verbs, or adjectives: data bank, data bit, data bus, data center, data-driven processing, data entry, data field, data file, data flow, data link, data mart, data mining, data offset, data packet, data point, data rate, data set, data sink, data stream, data warehouse. Notable exceptions are database, database administrator, database engine, datacom, datagram.
desktop (n.) 1. In a GUI, the desktop is the computer’s onscreen work area, where icons and menus allow the user to access all programs and functions. Also called an electronic desktop. 2. Jargon. A desktop is also a computer that is small enough to fit on top of a desk or in a person’s work area, short for desktop computer or desktop model computer. (adj.) 1. Pertaining to the GUI desktop: desktop level. For example, “All the programs and functions on a computer can be accessed from the desktop level.” 2. Activities and technology designed to be accessible from the user’s business desk: desktop computer, desktop conferencing, desktop publishing, desktop video.
digerati (n.) A play on the Italian word literati, digerati refers to the elite of the digital revolution. (If you’re not among them, are you one of the digilliterati?)
digi- words Jargon. Digi- words are compounds derived from digital. They are generally spelled as closed compounds. For example: digibabble, digispeak, digitocracy, digerati.
digital (adj.) As an adjective, digital adds the loose connotation that something is used on a computer or is computerized. Examples are digital cash, digital certificate, digital money, digital network, digital photography, digital recording, digital signature, digital video. For a comparison of digital and analog processes, see analog.
digitize (v.) To convert an image, text, or signal into digital code using a scanner or converter. “The 16 mm film of Kennedy’s assassination was digitized by the National Archives.”
disc, disk (n.) Disc is an alternative spelling for disk. The storage medium determines the correct spelling to use. Most authorities agree that magnetic computer disks are generally spelled with a k (floppy disk, hard disk, magnetooptical disk, RAM disk, diskette) and optical disks with a c (video disc, compact disc, laser disc, digital versatile disc). However, a number of the sources we reviewed did not distinguish between disc and disk. From our review, it seems premature to blur the lines that far. Perhaps the easiest generalization that will serve most writers and editors is that CDs are discs and all other types of storage media are disks. (adj.) disk drive, disk farm, disk mirroring, disk operating system (DOS), disk partition.
disintermediation (n.) This means “the elimination of the middleman.” One of the theories about how Web commerce will change the world is that it will lead to the disintermediation of retail sales. However, as anyone who has ever had an online order form or process go awry knows, customer service still matters to online consumers. On a TV news program profiling Netflix, the CEO ran into a problem in a demo and could not find an 800 telephone number anywhere on the Web site for live human help—an oversight that was quickly rectified. The editors of this book believe access to intermediaries is Business 101.
download (v.) It means to receive data from a remote computer over a network or Internet connection. (n.) Download is also used as a noun: “Our Web site features a free download for people who register.” This use verges on jargon, although it has become increasingly common. For now, we recommend recasting the sentence; for example: “People who register on our Web site can download a free electronic publication.” Be aware of the difference between download and upload. A file is downloaded when it is received from a remote location. You upload a file when you transmit it to a remote location.
drag and drop Jargon. We’ve seen this common computer expression used as a verb, adjective, and noun. (v.) While the expression “drag and drop the icon into the trashcan” hurts the ears, drag and drop clearly expresses an instruction for a specific action. In the Microsoft Press Computer Dictionary we find the following more palatable—if lengthier—example: “To delete a document in the Mac OS, a user can drag the document icon across the screen and drop it on the trashcan icon.” A similar expression is click and drag. (adj.) When drag and drop is used as an adjectival compound, we hyphenate it, as in the sentence “Both the Windows and the Mac OS offer drag-and-drop functionality.” (n.) Drag and drop is also used as a noun. In the Free Online Dictionary of Computing we found the following example: “The biggest problem with drag and drop is does it mean ‘copy’ or ‘move’?”
DTP desktop publishing. (n., adj.) The line between DTP and word processing has become moot as word processors acquire more sophisticated page layout features. The distinction we usually draw is that the purpose of DTP is to prepare professional publications for commercial printing. Word processors are well-suited to preparing documents for office laser printer output. At the low end, however, home DTP packages allow users to create nicely embellished publications like greeting cards and certificates for output to an inkjet printer. At the high end, word processors can be used to produce books for commercial reproduction and binding on a DocuTech machine. (It may no longer be necessary in the publishing world to spell out DTP on first use, but it’s a courtesy.) It’s also advisable to begin a sentence with the spelled-out form (as for many other acronyms).
DVD digital versatile disc. (n.) Originally known as the digital video disc, this disc looks like a CD-ROM but holds much more data, which permits fulllength movies and audio programs to be recorded on the disc. DVD refers to the disc itself. Also common is DVD-ROM—this is a read-only DVD. A DVD can be recorded on both sides and holds several gigabytes of data per side; new technology will increase the storage capacity to over eight gigabytes per side. The device that plays the DVD is called a DVD drive (or DVD-ROM drive) or DVD device. The newer DVD devices can play and record to both DVDs and CDs. (adj.) DVD technology, DVD drive, DVD device, DVD player.
DVD-R digital versatile disc-recordable. (n.) A write-once DVD.
DVD-RAM, DVD+RW (n.) Competing (and incompatible) standards for a high-capacity, rewritable DVD.
DVD-ROM digital versatile disc-ROM. (n.) A read-only DVD.
dynamic (adj., adv.) Dynamic actions take place when they are needed rather than in advance. Dynamic Web pages are composed of components collected and served on demand or on the fly. ASP (Active Server Pages) is one of several proprietary technologies that enable generation of dynamically created pages.
e- words The prefix e- is short for electronic. E- words are catchy, popular, and probably the most abused category of words in the English language today. Words like e-commerce, e-business, and e-mail have sprung from nowhere into the mainstream in a matter of years. Marketing copywriters, headline writers, and startup companies have turned just about every conceivable word into an e-word to give it the cachet of “modern, new, and electronic.” Readers may regard new e-words as trite rather than clever; exercise restraint in coining them. For consistency, we prefer to spell e-words with a hyphen, and that includes e-mail.
e-book, eBook (n.) Strictly speaking, an e-book is an electronic book. But be aware when you use the word that the electronic publishing industry is swiftly redefining what exactly e-book means. The Open Electronic Book Forum has defined a common technical standard for the electronic book called the Open eBook Publication Structure Specification. Read more about this initiative at openebook.org. (adj.) To read an e-book usually requires an e-book device or e-book reader. A dedicated e-book reader is a handheld device designed for optimal e-book viewing. Rocket eBook is a trademark of NuvoMedia.
editor (n.) A program used to create and edit text and code: a text editor, line editor, HTML editor, source code editor. An editor is less powerful than a word (or text) processor, which in turn is less powerful than a desktop publishing (DTP) program. A word processor usually has much more sophisticated formatting features than an editor. Also a video editor—a machine used to edit video. (v.) To edit, editing (code, HTML, etc.). (n.) A person who edits. (v.) To prepare for publication or public presentation. To alter, adapt, or refine especially to bring about conformity to a standard or to suit a particular purpose—“carefully edited the speech” (from Webster’s 10th). Editors are not mere rule appliers. In the electronic age, they are called on more and more to be arbiters of the language where style guides and clearly defined rules do not exist.
e-mail (n.) Short for electronic mail, e-mail used as a noun refers to both an electronic text message (an e-mail) and the system of communication by electronic text messages over a network (communicating by e-mail). (adj.) E-mail message, e-mail system, e-mail traffic. (v.) To send messages by e-mail. Less common spellings are email and E-mail. Use E-mail at the beginning of sentences. Use two initial caps for title case (E-Mail). We’ve drawn a line in the sand by specifying e-mail rather than email. The trend, especially among computer industry publications, is toward the closed form. However, because e-mail falls within the group we’ve classified as e-words, we prefer to treat it consistently with words of parallel construction. Ecommerce and ebusiness are not as widely used as e-commerce and e-business, so we recommend keeping the hyphen in e-mail—for now.
e-tailing electronic retailing. (n.) This word popped into prominence late in 1999 as the US financial and popular press closely monitored the performance of online merchants (e-tailers) during the Christmas season. (adj.) It has fallen into disuse.
extranet (n.) This is the portion of a corporate intranet that is available to customers/clients, vendors, suppliers, and/or business partners, usually employing password-protected access.
extreme Jargon. (adj.) Successor to the bleeding edge. Over the past several years, extreme has been used to mean “pushing the edge” or “taken to the ultimate extent” in many contexts—it’s quickly becoming institutionalized as it is co-opted for marketing purposes. Extreme sports have lead to the X-Games. So extreme doesn’t necessarily add the connotation of digital or electronic, although the Internet and all its associated technologies have pushed everybody to the extreme edge in one way or another (feeling extreme information anxiety anyone?). Anything that challenges the mind, imagination, or body is, idiomatically speaking, extreme. There will always be an extreme edge—maybe the word extreme won’t be enough to describe it, though, as the hype inevitably becomes the norm, and then is demoted to the equivalent of merely clichéd, extremely cool.
e-zine See zine.
FAQ Jargon. (n.) A FAQ is a list of frequently asked questions, usually posted on a newsgroup or Web site to provide a place to answer common questions asked by newcomers. Use of FAQ outside the Web and newsgroup context has become trendy, but it should be used carefully—not everyone will know what you mean. (adj.) A FAQ list. Pronounced “F-A-Q” or “fack.”
fax (n., v.) Only if you wish to be perceived as hopelessly out of it will you spell facsimile out or capitalize it as FAX. Frowned upon as jargon as recently as 10 years ago, fax is now perfectly acceptable as a transitive verb with an indirect object: Fax me your resume.
font (n.) The difference between a font and a typeface can be confusing. In brief, a font is a set of characters for a particular typeface. A typeface is a design for a set of characters. Among the most common business-document typefaces are Courier, Times Roman, and Helvetica. Each typeface is made up of sets of fonts, which describe characteristics such as size, weight, and slant. Most typefaces include a minimum of four fonts: normal weight, bold, italic, and bold italic. For links to typography resources and examples of contemporary fonts, visit philsfonts.com. (adj.) A font family is a complete set of fonts for the same typeface (usually includes normal weight, bold, italic, and bold italic fonts). Font cartridge, font manager, font metric, font style, font utility, font weight. For a look at fonts suitable for the Web, visit online foundries.
FTP File Transfer Protocol. (n.) An Internet-based method for transferring information from one computer to another. (v.) To upload or download files to/from another computer using File Transfer Protocol: to FTP files, FTPed, FTPing. (adj.) An FTP site. Use initial caps for the acronym although in an address it’ll be lowercased. When writing an FTP address in text, include the prefix ftp://, as in ftp://ftp.tradesvc.com/tsp/incoming/. See also HTTP.
handheld (n.) A handheld usually refers to a computer that is small enough to fit in one hand. A handheld usually performs a number of functions and receives input from a keypad or device such as a pointer or barcode scanner. (adj.) Handheld PC, handheld computer. A palmtop is a type of handheld device.
hardcopy (n., adj.) Style it as one word. Hardcopy refers to the physical, paper version of a document or a printout of data as opposed to the electronic version, as in “I need the hardcopy as well as the electronic version.” The opposite, softcopy, is not as common but refers to an electronic version.
HDML handheld device markup language
HDTV high-definition television
high-tech (adj.) Hyphenated as an adjective when it precedes the noun, and we propose it hyphenated as a unit modifier, too. Occasionally but not preferably seen as hi-tech.
hit (n.) A hit is an often-misunderstood Web site traffic statistic. Often the number of hits is taken to mean unique visitors or pageviews. However, a hit is the total number of files downloaded or accessed. One page may consist of several files, as the viewer of a page has access not only to the page itself but also to the graphics and any scripts running on that page. Therefore, one pageview may generate dozens of hits. This statistic is misleading when it’s used to quantify a site’s total traffic. A graphics-intensive site that receives a million hits a month may actually be receiving fewer unique visitors who are seeing fewer pageviews than another site that delivers fewer files.
home page (n.) The home page is the main page for a Web site. Spelled as two words, consistent with Web page. Every Web site has a home page; complex Web sites may have multiple entry pages—say, to feature specific products—but only one home page. The home page does not automatically mean the opening screen. Some sites use splash screens before the home page. An alternative, less common spelling is homepage.
HTML Hypertext Markup Language
HTTP Hypertext Transfer Protocol. (n.) HTTP is the basic protocol or standard that allows documents to be delivered across the Web. Any Web browser can communicate with a server using HTTP. The http:// prefix in a Web address tells the Web browser that the document conforms to the HTTP standard. If the communications protocol is not specified, the browser assumes that it conforms to HTTP. Capitalize the acronym and use initial caps when spelling it out. See also FTP and URL.
hyper- words Most words using the prefix hyper- are written as closed compounds: hyperlink, hypermedia, hyperspace, hypertext, hyperware, but hyperreality.
i- words Jargon. The i- prefix stands for Internet. I-words are spelled as hyphenated compounds (i-content, i-publishing) and also as closed compounds with an intercap to avoid pronunciation confusion (iVillage.com, iPublish.com).
inhouse (adj., adv.) One word. Inhouse work is performed within the company or organization as opposed to work that is outsourced, which is the opposite term.
instant message (IM) (n.) An instant message is a message sent from one computer to another over a network or the Internet that appears in real time. The acronym is now used almost universally as a verb: to IM. “We IM’d back and forth all afternoon.” IM, IMing, IM’d. Also called Internet chat. The key distinction between e-mail and instant messaging is that IMs appear onscreen on the recipient’s computer as soon as they are received; e-mail messages sit on a server until the recipient retrieves them.
Internet (n.) When referring to the worldwide network of computer networks that communicate with each other, the word Internet is always capitalized. (adj.) Internet-based toy sales, Internet address. The Web is just one part of the Internet, which also includes functions such as e-mail, FTP, Gopher, Telnet, and others.
intranet (n., adj.) Refers to a company’s internal network of HTML pages. Do not shorten to Net or net, as this can be mistaken for a reference to the Internet. Refer to it as the corporation’s intranet site (or the intranet on internal company documents). Do not refer to an intranet as a Web or web. Although they use the same technology, intranet sites are not on the Internet but rather are accessible from the company’s network.
IT information technology. (n., adj.) This acronym is used loosely to refer to any and all tasks, skills, and activities associated with computers, the Web, and new media. The people in IT departments purchase, install, upgrade, and troubleshoot software, hardware, peripherals, and related electronic systems. IT may mean anything from database management and programming to daily maintenance of a network, applications support, and Web site development. The oldest synonym for IT is MIS (management information systems), which gradually gave way to the less-clunky IS (information systems). Now the broader term IT is most frequently seen. It seems that a boundless array of powerful, complementary technologies—which have forced even the stodgiest publisher onto the Internet—simply overtook the more static “system” model.
just-in-time (JIT) (n.) Just-in-time is hyphenated when it refers to the manufacturing and inventory management strategy. (adj.) Its most prominent tool is POD—print-on-demand technology.
LISTSERV (adj.) LISTSERV is a registered trademark for the electronic mailing list management software marketed by L-Soft. Be careful not to misuse LISTSERV as a synonym for an electronic mailing list—even if the list is indeed managed by LISTSERV software. Wrong: a LISTSERV list for pet fanciers. (n.) As LISTSERV is a trademark, do not use it as a noun to refer to the electronic mailing list itself or in a generic sense to refer to any e-mail list based on another mailing list management software. The correct way to refer to such a list—whether it is based on LISTSERV software or not—is e-mail list or e-discussion list.
localization (n.) One of the major topics in software and Web development today is localization—customizing a software application or a Web site’s content and features for a “local” audience. Localization goes beyond straight translation to include accommodation for local culture and beliefs. For example, when localizing Web graphics, a non-US citizen may not understand the relationship between an image of a woman office manager faced with a pile of boxes and your company’s global shipping services. (v.) To localize, localized, localizing. (adj.) Localization industry. Also called internationalization.
log on, log off (v.), logon (adj.), login, logon (n.) To log on to a network means to connect with the network by submitting the proper user name and/or password to gain access. Log in is an alternative for log on. To disconnect from the network, one logs off or logs out. Microsoft recommends against using log in; however, in common use, both log on and log in are acceptable. The Wired Style Guide offers the advice that “log in and log out are more common in the Unix world.” We advise using the terms consistently: Pair log on with log off, and don’t switch randomly among the variants in a publication or on a Web site. Use log on to, not log onto: The user logged on to the network. Usage note: It’s important to remember that the logon process involves authorization. Don’t use it for an open access system—don’t say Log on to our Web page. (adj.) Logon can be used as an adjective: logon password, logon routine. (n.) Login. The account name a person uses to connect to a network, Web service, bulletin board service, and so on: My login name is jsmith. Also called logon.
media (n.) 1. Media is technically a plural term (a count noun), with medium as its singular. Media as a singular term was once understood to refer only to newspapers. But media is now widely used as a collective noun to mean all forms of information dissemination, including newspapers, magazines, television, radio, and the Web. That’s what mass media means, and media has become shorthand for that collective (singular) sense. We recommend using the singular in this sentence: Is the soundbite-hungry media to blame for the negative tenor of political dialog? 2. Media are objects that hold computer data for purposes of backup or distribution. This category of media includes diskettes (floppy disks), CD-ROMs, hard disks, and magnetic tapes. 3. In a new-media context, media refers to the specific electronic techniques used to present content and can include text, audio, video, graphic enhancement, and animation. The term mixed media incorporates several different forms of media. 4. In a computer network, transmission media link individual workstations together. Types of transmission media include coaxial cable, twisted-pair wire, and fiberoptic cable. (adj.) Media feeding frenzy.
meta tag (n.) Meta tags are words that describe the content of a Web page so that it can be indexed by a search engine. A casual visitor viewing a page with a Web browser does not see the meta tags. While most words with the meta-prefix are closed compounds, meta tag is preferred as an open compound for clarity by a preponderance of sources.
meta- words The prefix meta- means “about” and is usually written as a closed compound with the word it modifies. A metalanguage is a language used to describe other languages. A metafile is a file that contains other files. The fact that The Metadata Company is a registered trademark does not govern the style of the common noun metadata, meaning “data about data.” The closed form is more frequently used, though meta-data is also seen.
mouseover Jargon. Closed compound. (n.) The JavaScript technique that allows a Web page element (usually a graphic) to change as the mouse passes over it. (adj.) Mouseover effects. Also spelled mouse-over. Sometimes called a rollover.
multi- words The prefix multi- usually adds a connotation of “many,” “more than one,” or “many times over.” Some would hyphenate between the prefix and a root word with an adjacent vowel: multi-user vs. multiuser, but words beginning with the prefix multi- are usually closed compounds: multicast, multidimensional, multifrequency, multilaunch, multilayer, multilevel, multilingual, multimedia, multimode, multiplexing, multipoint, multiported, multitasking, multithreading, multivendor.
multimedia (n.) Multimedia, used rather loosely to mean “a category of content,” “a format,” “a means of publication,” or all three, includes text, graphics, audio, and video. (adj.) Multimedia computer, multimedia software. Multimedia software enables us to create online presentations that incorporate video clips, sound, and animation. See also media.
newsgroup (n.) A newsgroup is an online discussion group that is distributed through Usenet, using the Internet protocol Network News Transfer Protocol (NNTP). The Internet is host to thousands of newsgroups. Only online discussion groups that are a part of Usenet are considered newsgroups. Non-Usenet online forums have other names, like chat rooms or Web-based discussions.
offline (adv.) Disconnected and/or unable to receive data: The printer is offline. Offline has taken on the informal connotation of being away from one’s computers and the Internet and unreachable by e-mail: I will be offline while I am on vacation in the Amazon. (adj.) Jargon. Offline can mean noncomputerized or not Net-connected—the offline world as opposed to the online world.
on the fly (adv.) Dynamic Web pages are composed of components collected and served on demand, or on the fly. (adj.) Hyphenate the adjective: “On-the-fly editing of video is editing live or without stopping the tapes” (Medialink Broadcasting Glossary).
online (adv., adj.) Online has many meanings. We recommend using online as a closed compound for all of them. Online as an adverb can mean “in a computerized format” (versus print): The tax forms are available both in print and online. Online may mean “on the Web” or in any digital format. If you’re using online to mean “digital,” be specific, because it has begun to imply the Web as a default: do online research, go online to verify the facts. Online also refers to electronic equipment being connected and ready to receive data: the printer is online. The opposite is offline.
online community (n.) Either the entire population of Web users or a specific niche community formed around a specific portal, Web site, chat room, e-mail list, newsgroup, or blog.
outsource Closed compound. (v.) To use services or resources provided by a consultant or supplier outside a firm.
pageview (n.) A pageview is a Web advertising term that refers to a Web site visitor viewing a page. If a visitor clicks on 12 pages on a Web site, this constitutes 12 pageviews. Online advertising rates are often based on the pageview statistic.
PDF Portable Document Format. (n.) A PDF is the type of file created by Adobe’s Acrobat software. Also an adjective and a verb: We PDF’d the file to you yesterday.
Photoshop (adj.) Adobe Photoshop software is used for image editing. Adobe prefers that its trademarks be used as adjectives followed by a generic term (such as software). Correct: Color-correct these images using Photoshop software. Incorrect: We need to photoshop these images. But we all use this word informally as a generic verb.
portal (n.) A portal is a Web site that offers a jumping-off point to the Web. Portals offer concentrated resources, news, and services to attract and hold repeat visitors. They often offer personalization features that allow registered users to customize the data that the portal will push at sign-in. A vertical portal concentrates on a tightly focused niche market, such as engineers or desktop publishers. A vertical portal for mechanical engineers is iCrank.com; it offers features such as engineering reference data, links to vendors, software and hardware, technical discussion forums, and news of upcoming conferences. A horizontal portal offers a broad range of services and features to appeal to the broadest possible range of people. Major horizontal portals such as Excite and Yahoo! offer myriad features, including personalization, free e-mail, a search engine, news, weather, chat rooms, stock quotes, shopping, and horoscopes. Acceptable references are portal and Web portal. Do not use portal site.
preflight Jargon. (adj.) Always a closed compound. The thorough review of an electronic publication before it is sent to the printer for output: preflight check. (v.) to preflight: Preflight the annual report files before they go to the printer.
print-on-demand (POD) (n.) Print-on-demand is a relatively new process for printing books efficiently and cost-effectively one copy at a time. (adj.) Barnes & Noble signed an agreement with IBM to provide print-on-demand equipment for its distribution centers.
pull (adj., v.) The common form of information access across the Web or a computer network, pull technology delivers information or data only when a user directly requests it. Clicking on a hyperlink or requesting a file is one way a user pulls information from a server. Contrast with push technology. See also push.
pure play (adj.) A pure play company has its entire operation online. A pure play Internet company does not have a bricks-and-mortar presence. Also called a pure Internet company.
push (adj.) Push technology delivers a program of news and information to a person’s computer or handheld device. (v.) Information is delivered or pushed to the user either on a preset schedule or upon request. The user specifies what information he or she wants delivered (stock quotes, news headlines, local weather, entertainment news, etc.) and how often. Web portals often feature personal home pages that push custom programs of news and information to users who sign up for the service. Contrast with pull technology.
radio button (n.) Two words. Radio buttons are used on Web pages and online forms when the person filling out the form must choose one of several options. Like a predigital car radio that had big buttons to push to select a station, radio buttons can be selected only one at a time.
real time, real-time (n., adj.) Something that is telecast, broadcast, or relayed when it is actually happening, as opposed to a recorded or delayed transmission event. Millions of viewers tuned into the concert broadcast over the Internet in real time. (adj.) Hyphenated. Real-time animation, real-time clock, real-time compression, real-time conferencing, real-time image, real-time operating system, real-time video, real-time information system.
repurpose (v.) To plan for the reuse of content and/or electronic coding, graphics, and layout for multiple applications, such as using the same content for a newsletter that is printed and e-mailed, posted on a Web page, and sent as a podcast. Such strategic positioning of content early in the publishing process allows it to be distributed to reach audiences in their preferred format and medium.
resolution—high-resolution, low-resolution (n., adj.) In graphic arts and computing, resolution refers to the fineness of detail and clarity of an image. The term is used with bitmapped graphic images, printers, scanners, and monitors. The more dots or pixels per square inch, the higher the resolution and quality. Low-resolution and high-resolution are most often used as hyphenated adjectives: a high-resolution image, a low-resolution image. Jargon: high-res or hi-res, low-res.
scalable (adv.) Business jargon adapted from the computing world—means capable of being expanded or reduced to the necessary and cost-effective size and scope. This software is fully scalable; it can serve anyone from home-based Web creators to design teams at major corporate sites. (v.) to scale up and to scale down (preferred to upsize and downsize).
secure (adj.) A secure Web server conforms to one of the major security protocols to prevent unauthorized or destructive access. When a server or an area of a Web site is not secure, refer to it as nonsecure (not insecure).
setup, set up, Setup (n.) The way a computer’s hardware and software is configured is its setup (one word). Setup (initial cap) refers to the installation program that comes with most applications (setup.exe): Run Setup to install the program on your computer. (adj.) The adjective is spelled as one word: setup routine. (v.) Set up is two words when used as a verb meaning to install or configure hardware or software.
sign on (v.) Sign on is used as a synonym for log on when referring to connecting to a network. Log on is the preferred term. (adj.) sign-on name.
spec (n.) As a noun, spec(s) is short for specification(s), as in The specs for that print job are 20 copies, in Garamond type and doublespaced. (v.) As a verb, to spec is short for specify and means “to write instructions for.” Spelling of spec as a verb includes speccing and specced or spec’d. Because it’s an informal word to begin with, we prefer the informal conjugations: spec’ing and spec’d. Specked is not preferable, implying as it does the footprints of flies. Working to spec means “doing it just as planned.”
startup (n., adj.) Much like voicemail, which began life in the first edition of this glossary as voice mail but by summer of 2000 moved to the solid form that is now in widest use. Startup began life in newspapers like the Washington Post as start-up and is now most often seen closed up. A startup is a new company, often a new Internet company. (v.) Use as two words: To start up yet another online bookstore would be madness until Amazon figures it out.
techno- words Closed compounds: technoanxiety, technobabble, technocrat, technofiend, technographer, technologitis, technophobe, technophile, technostress.
tele- words Words beginning with the prefix tele- are proliferating. They are always written as closed compounds. Some of the recent occurrences of tele- we have found: telecommute, teleconference, telecommuting agreement, teleworker, telework, telework coordinator, telework agreement, telework inventory, telework program.
upload (v.) To transmit a file from your computer to a remote location such as an FTP site. See also download.
URLs (n.) Some companies and organizations style their Web address so people can remember their name: HowThingsWork.com. But because most browsers automatically add the http:// and www. elements to a URL, the contemporary style is to leave them off when giving a URL in text. Thus, to refer you to the companion Web site for this book, we need to write only eeicom.com/press/istyle. When the URL is for a secure site that begins with https:// or a site that uses a protocol other than HTTP (such as an FTP site), those cues are necessary.
video- words Words formed with the video prefix are usually, but not always, closed compounds: videocam (but video camera), videoconference, videodisc, videogame, videotape (but video adapter and video port).
viral marketing (n.) A marketing technique in which people are encouraged to contact friends to recommend the product.
virtual terms (adj.) Virtual is added to just about any word to add the sense of not real, as in existing in conceptual space but not physical space. Terms including virtual are written as open compounds: virtual office, virtual employees, virtual meeting, virtual reality, virtual desktop, virtual private network, virtual disk.
voicemail (n.) Voicemail is used to refer to both the system (“All the employees have voicemail”) and, more informally, to the individual messages (“I left you several voicemails”). This term is a closed compound in most sources researched. (adj.) Voicemail system, voicemail message.
-ware words (n.) -ware words are a takeoff on hardware/software and generally refer to classes of software products, such as groupware, intraware, and middleware. They usually appear as closed compounds, like their predecessor words. For example: shareware, freeware, shovelware, vaporware, firmware, wetware, bioware.
Web page (n., adj.) It’s hard to say exactly what a Web page is—the term is used loosely—but nontech people loosely understand what it means. A home page is not necessarily the opening page of a site; a so-called Web page can be many pages long (in terms of both screenfuls and sections), but it’s not necessarily the same as a Web site (though, literally and practically speaking, a site is a collection of electronic pages formatted in HTML). Is that perfectly clear? Two universities define the term this way for their site users (punctuation theirs):
A web page provides access to networked information and databases via a part of the Internet called the World Wide Web. The University of Delaware Library has a web “site” called a home page. The Library home page provides access to Library information, services and databases, including the Library Networked Databases. The Library Networked Databases page provides access to Library databases that are networked on the Internet. This way, you can access several Library databases from a single web page…
Web page—entry point in a World Wide Web information site; often called a home page. To create your own Web page, see Your Auburn University Web Page.
The whole schmear, soup to nuts, is a Web site. Some people take the shortcut of using Web page to mean “any or all of the content on a site” and as a synonym for Web site as well. It would be clearer to use Web page to refer to a single document (corresponding to one specific URL) in a collection of content at a site. Don’t hold your breath, though.
Web words (n.) Web is capitalized when it stands alone, short for the proper noun World Wide Web. (adj.) Web is also capitalized when it forms part of an open compound, as in Web technology, Web address, Web-based (“Web-based merchants”), Web-centric (“a Web-centric commerce model”), Web browser, Web page, Web portal, Web ring, Web site. There are a few cases in which Web forms part of a closed compound; in these cases it is lowercased: webmaster, webzine, webcast, webonomics.
webcast (n.) One word, lowercased—patterned on the word it is based on, broadcast. A webcast is a transmission of an event like a concert or conference over the Internet. The event may be live or recorded. Interestingly, this is almost always used as a noun and shows no urgent trend toward being verbed.
Web-enabled (adj.) An application or enterprise that makes use of the Web but is not completely based on the Web.
webmaster (n.) Webmaster was originally a take-off on postmaster. Like postmaster, webmaster is written as a closed compound, and Web is not capitalized. The webmaster is the person responsible for building and maintaining a Web site.
workaround (n.) A workaround is the creative solution we develop when an existing system either doesn’t work properly or doesn’t cover all the contingencies. Like, you know, when we’re not sure whether countywide and statewide are correct just because worldwide is. Why is it never-ending but everlasting and nevermore? The creative solution we come up with is often “what feels least wrong.”
workflow Closed compound. (n.) Workflow is an organizational concept, like workgroup. A workgroup is task-centric. In an organizational setting, workflow consists of specific processes that need to be accomplished and who needs to do them in order to attain a specified outcome.
workstation (n.) A workstation, when referring to a computer, usually means a high-powered database and graphics-crunching personal computer. In a network context, workstation refers to an individual’s personal computer—a network client as opposed to the server.
zine Jargon. (n.) A zine is an informal newsletter/magazine. It usually appeals to a tightly defined niche and has slightly underground appeal. When a zine goes online, it becomes a webzine or e-zine. These digital zines have the same offbeat niche appeal, but they reside on Web sites or are distributed by e-mail newsletter. We spell webzine as a closed compound with a lowercase w.
NetLingo, Erin Jansen’s Web site, claims it has thousands of definitions that easily explain the Internet and the online world of business, technology, and communication for new users, industry professionals, students, and educators. We’d add that the terms listed can be eye-opening for editors who don’t want to be clueless about Netglish. Jansen has kindly allowed us to present what she believes are the top 19 tech terms of 2006 that have become common expressions. (On netlingo.com, many terms in the definitions are cross-linked to further definitions—one way Web text is superior to the printed page.)
1. bandwidth. The technical definition involves the difference between two frequencies and the amount of information that can flow through a channel as expressed in cycles per second (hertz). It also refers to the range of frequencies (not the speed) or the measured amount of information that can be transmitted over a connection: The higher the frequency, the higher the bandwidth and the greater the capacity of a channel to carry information. For a digital channel, bandwidth is defined in bits per second (bps). For an analog channel, it depends on the type and method of modulation used to encode the data. Broadcast TV channels, for example, all have the same bandwidth, by FCC rule. You may hear bandwidth described as the amount of time it takes a Web page to fully load (although this is incorrect) or as the amount of traffic on a Web site (this is also incorrect, but widely used). Internet users refer to larger graphics as “bandwidth hogs,” because they take up so much room and download so slowly. Another slang use describes the inability to think about or do multiple things at once, as in “I don’t have the bandwidth to deal with your request right now.” If a person is described as having “low bandwidth,” it means he or she is considered slow on the uptake.
2. plug-and-play. A standard for add-in hardware that requires it to identify itself on demand. Most computer systems are designed to be plug-and-play: You can buy it, bring it home, plug it in, and start playing. This makes it easier for people who consider themselves computer illiterate to use a computer, because they don’t need to install devices or configure drivers—it does most of the work for you. There’s also something known as “plug-and-print,” a behind-the-screens technology that improves the way printers and computers communicate. Slang usage refers to a new employee who doesn’t need training. For example, “The new girl is…totally plug-and-play.”
3. opt-out/downtime. When a user asks to be removed from any kind of online program. For example, if you no longer want to receive an e-mail newsletter, you can opt out. Note that there is a difference between opting out and unsubscribing. You may only unsubscribe to something you have previously subscribed to, but you may opt out of something you have never joined in the first place. For example, if you fill out an online form to register or sign up for something, you may see a “yes” automatically checked in a radio button to indicate that you wish to receive something. Unless you manually uncheck the yes, you will be added to some kind of marketing list. Opt-out also refers to a type of service that assumes inclusion unless informed otherwise.
4. radar screen. The range of interests that a company or person is focused on. For example, “With voice portals on everyone’s radar screen, a wide variety of companies are now trying to figure out how they can voice-enable their businesses.” Another example: “There is no technology that allows him to use a Palm Pilot; in fact, the blind are not on anybody’s radar screen yet.”
5. acronyms: FYI, SNAFU, TMI. [This entry links to a NetLingo List of Acronyms & Text Messaging Shorthand—many of them humorous and slightly profane.] Commonly seen wherever people get online—including instant messaging, cell phones, PDAs, Web sites, newsgroup postings, and blogs. Acronyms have always been an integral part of computer culture, and they have spawned a new language on the Internet. Online enthusiasts, primarily millennials, are learning that shorthand is called “acronyms,” but this is incorrect. The difference between acronyms and shorthand is that with acronyms, you pronounce the letters of the abbreviation as a new word (for example, FUBAR is pronounced “foo-bar”). In contrast, the letters of shorthand terms are pronounced one-by-one and not pronounced as a word (for example, FYI is pronounced “F-Y-I”). The difference between shorthand and initialisms (another type of abbreviation) is that the latter refers to the shortening of a word itself, for example “esp” for “especially.” The online practice is to refer to any shorthand or abbreviation as an acronym. The majority of the expressions you see are not acronyms but rather shorthand used while text messaging or IM’ing. BTW: If you ever see someone TYPING AN ENTIRE SENTENCE IN ALL CAPITAL LETTERS that means SHOUTING! It is not proper netiquette to TYPE IN ALL CAPS (even in e-mail); in fact, it’s annoying. People with limited eyesight may use all caps to see the words better; otherwise, TURN THE CAPS LOCK OFF, unless you’re using an acronym or shorthand. [Ed. Note: What Jansen calls shorthand we would call initialism and what she calls initialism is actually more like shorthand—no wonder millennials are confused, if editors are, too.]
6. 86’d. It means “out of” or “over” or “to get rid of.” This expression comes from the restaurant industry, where it’s the code on the computers to signify that the restaurant has run out of a particular dish. It is an acronym or text message used in online chat, IM, e-mail, blogs, or newsgroup postings. [Commonly heard at bars, i.e., people not being served anymore because they’re drunk.]
7. multitasking. [Listed but not defined on NetLingo; definition here from Wikipedia.] Multitasking may refer to any of the following:
1. Computer multitasking—the apparent simultaneous performance of two or more tasks by a computer’s central processing unit.
2. Derived from the first sense, multitasking is the colloquial term for a human being’s simultaneous handling of multiple tasks.
3. Media multitasking could refer to using a computer, mp3, or any other media in conjunction with another medium.
4. “Polychronistic time” is business jargon for multitasking.
8. users/visitors. The term defines the online audience; it also refers to anyone who uses a computer. It comes from techies, who refer to people as “computer users.” The word “users” is not yet in the American Heritage Dictionary, but “user-friendly” made it. In the past, “user” meant drug user…does this say something about how we’re all getting addicted to the online world? Let’s relish the fact that we’re the first group of people ever to be “online users!”
9. interface. In a general sense, the interface is the part of a program that interacts between a user and an application, meaning it is what you see on the computer screen. The word usually means “user interface,” which consists of a set of operating system commands, graphical display formats, and other features designed for use on a computer or a program. A “graphical user interface” (GUI; pronounced goo-ey) provides users with a picture-oriented, user-friendly way to see what is on a computer system. A “programming interface” consists of the set of statements, functions, options, and other ways of expressing program instructions and data. The interface is also a special point of entry into the software or operating system, where programmers can work on the underlying code. Another definition of interface is the connection between two applications or two hardware devices that facilitates the exchange of data. “To interface” is to make an appropriate physical connection between two pieces of hardware so the equipment can communicate or work together effectively. The word has permeated into mainstream culture; “to interface” means to communicate with another person or object.
10. rant and rave. To go on and on about something you feel passionate about. Users often rant and rave about topics in newsgroups. “Rant” implies negative feelings; “rave” implies admiration.
11. Film @11. Reference to TV commercials for the late local news; a sarcastic phrase used in newsgroups or chat rooms in reaction to an overwrought argument. For example, “Imminent death of the Net predicted. Film at 11.” The phrase has also become a funny kind of “copout” at the end of a news article or explanation, as if to say, “It’s too early to draw any conclusions that you’ll hold me to later.” For example, if the author isn’t sure where a particular technology is headed, he or she is signifying that the debate will continue to rage on. For example, “A hot topic is the future of e-commerce and the B2B sector. Film at 11.” Simply, it means there’s more to come.
12. cybersquatting. The practice of purchasing a domain name that contains a well-known trademark or commercial name (for example, generalelectric.com). The intent is not to develop it into a Web site but rather to sell it to the rightful owner for a big profit. This practice is being contested in various legal battles; usually, the company, not the cybersquatter, wins.
13. navigate. The act of moving around the Web by clicking on hypertext links (or paths) that take you from one Web page to another. As you navigate, you move from one computer to another and from one server to another without realizing it.
14. McLuhanisms: medium is the message, global village, digital revolution. A term for a catchy phrase or slogan coined by Marshall McLuhan, popular writer and intellectual thinker during the digital revolution. For example, he said, “The medium is the message,” meaning that the form of media has a greater impact on society than the content.
15. Google (Google, Inc.). A company founded in 1998 by Larry Page and Sergey Brin, two Stanford Ph.D. candidates who developed a technologically advanced method for finding information on the Internet. Its most famous product is a hybrid search engine that ranks the popularity of results that match your keyword search. It has an index of billions of Web pages. Google focuses primarily on delivering the best search experience on the Web by providing a search site and licensing its search technology to commercial sites. Web sites are permitted to freely use Google technology—such as Google Local and Google Maps—on their own sites. Like many great Internet terms, Google has morphed into a general term for “search,” as in “Did you Google your date to find out more about him?”
Using Google’s name as a verb may impinge on trademark. The company makes the distinction between using the word “Google” to describe using Google to search the Internet, and using the word to describe searching the Internet. [Ed. Note: Good luck with enforcing that distinction, Google!] The company has entered various industries, such as telecommunications, and the Google Web site has expanded to offer many extra features. For example, Deja News (now known as “Google Groups” following its acquisition by Google) is a database front-end for searching the Usenet newsgroups, which form the largest information utility in existence. Known simply as the search engine for the newsgroups, it provides users with complete access to Usenet data since 1995. Google Groups offers the complete 20-year Usenet Archive, with over 700 million messages. Google has become so popular that a Swedish couple named their baby boy Oliver Google Kai.
16. 404. An acronym or text message used in online chat, IM, e-mail, blogs, or newsgroup postings. It means “I haven’t got a clue.”
17. DBEYR. An acronym used in online chat, IM, e-mail, blogs, or newsgroup postings. It means “Don’t believe everything you read.”
18. morph. [Listed without definition on NetLingo; definition from Wikipedia.] Morphing is a special effect in motion pictures and animations that changes one image into another through a seamless transition. Most often it is used to show one person turning into another through some magical or technological means or as part of a fantasy or surreal sequence. Traditionally, such a depiction was achieved through cross-fading techniques on film. Since the early 1990s, these techniques have been replaced by computer software that creates more realistic transitions.
19. just-in-time (JIT). Originally, this phrase described a compiler that turns Java bytecode, for example, into instructions that can be sent directly to a processor. Now it usually refers to a system of inventory control, supplier relationships, quality control, and so on. Slang usage has morphed the meaning into something that can be handled or assimilated quickly, such as just-in-time training: small, easily digestible pieces of information.