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header. Don't duplicate in your signature any material you have in
your e-mailhead.
Capitalizing, and other odd things.
Business communication requires proper use of written language. It
requires proper use of capital letters. Some offices permit - even
encourage - all lower-case for internal memos. But, this is rude and
slovenly when used for inter-company communications. Would you
write a business letter on company letterhead using all lower-case?
We hope not!
Specifics
1. internet - is a generic term, not a proper noun. Use lower case and
capitalize only at the beginning of a sentence. (However, many
journalists are capitalizing Internet. By today's rules, this is not
correct, but English is a living language with custom a major
factor. In time, it may be correct to capitalize Internet.)
2. intranet - is a common noun. Capitalize at the beginning of a
sentence and when the word has been particularized - as in the
IBM Intranet (like the Ohio River), but: IBM's intranet.
3. World Wide Web - should be capitalized, according to Webster's.
(However, by the same rule, other things of the same class like
gopher and archie should be capitalized, too. As these are rarely
capitalized, you may decide not to capitalize “world wide web.”
Whatever you choose, be consistent.)
4. The initials, WWW, which stand for “World Wide Web,” should
be in capitals. (But Webster's does not always capitalize
abbreviations. If you capitalize the whole phrase, capitalize the
abbreviation, and vice versa.)
5. e-mail - the “e” is always lower case. At the beginning of a
sentence, the “M” is capitalized – as in e-Mail. And the word
should be hyphenated. (“email” - no hyphen - means “enamel” in
German and French.)
6. on-line - should be hyphenated, not written solid (online).
However, “Online” is commonly used in trade names (eg.
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