RE: Dumb question: is it "email", "Email", "e-mail", or "E-mail"

[Fred Ridder <docudoc -at- hotmail -dot- com>]

Deborah Hemstreet wrote:
> My brain is befuddled by change. Could someone kindly advise the correct 
> current practice for referring to Email (email, E-mail, e-mail)... I see 
> it typed every which way...
> 
> Is there a rule for this kind of thing? For example, I've seen 
> discussion over Internet vs internet, and online Help vs online help....
 
The correct usage is whatever your standard style guide says. If you
don't have a style guide, pick a usage and stick with it consistently.
The forms with a capped "E" are probably not good choices since they
already look archaic, but there are legitimate arguments and preferences
for all of the other forms. 
 
My own personal preference is e-mail, since the closed forms look like
they should be pronounced eh-mail rather than ee-mail. For many other
nonce words I prefer the closed forms, but this one just looks wrong
when closed.
 
-Fred Ridder
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