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Pastimes : SI Grammar and Spelling Lab -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: GROUND ZERO™ who wrote (3086)	7/2/1999 11:49:00 AM
From: jbe	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 4710

This source, among others, uses capital letters (BTW): dal.net Logically, of course, "btw" would be preferable, since the phrase being abbreviated -- "by the way" -- is not capitalized. But, as you say, who cares? We are talking net language here. And so far, anything goes. Just don't use either "BTW" or "btw" in anything not published on the net. Your readers won't understand it. And your editors, if you have such, will remove it. :-) jbe

To: GROUND ZERO™ who wrote (3086)	7/2/1999 12:12:00 PM
From: The Philosopher	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 4710

There is no rule book on that -- too new. It's not an acronym for a proper name, like IRS, INS, etc. Theoretically, since i.e. and e.g. and the like are lower case with periods, I suppose it should theoretically be b.t.w. But the point is a shortcut, so nobody is going to take the time to put in those periods. So the choices really become btw or BTW (Btw makes no sense except as the start of a sentence if you choose btw). Given that choice, BTW is usually used, I think a) because it stands out, and b) because it doesn't get mistaken for a simple misspelling. And perhaps c) because it looks groovier. If it matters, the SI spellcheck redletters btw, but accepts BTW. Question: Is BTW on its way to becoming a word in its own right?