Internetese
n. A style of writing prevalent in websites, email messages, and online chat rooms.
Also Seen As
Examples
1998
You will not encounter such niceties as good grammar, spelling or literary style. Knowles' site is written in Internetese, a sort of stream-of-consciousness ranting in which emphasis is provided by writing in all-capitals, and where one exclamation point is never enough.
—Doug Saunders, “The trouble with Harry,” The Globe and Mail, June 26, 1998
1996
Last week's report on the kiddyporn E-mail spam (Internetese for unwanted mass junk mailing) which was sent, unsolicited, to thousands of Canadians, drew this thoughtful response from reader, Tom Saask.
—Myles White, “Story brings home how far we've come,” The Toronto Star, November 07, 1996
1994 (earliest)
A gopher is Internetese for a computer data base that can be searched for specific information.
—Stephen C. Miller, “At the Bar; Lawyers with log-ons are sampling the Internet smorgasbord,” The New York Times, August 19, 1994
Filed Under