Anyone who is moderately computer-literate will either shrink from or laugh at any dead-tree endeavour to comprehensively list vital terms relating to the Internet. However, after my first blush at Oxford’s Dictionary of the Internet, I was very impressed.
This review needs to be prefaced by one vital detail: what one purchases in this book is not just the hard copy version of the book itself, but access to a constantly growing online database of terms administered by its author(s). This, in itself, is reflective of the subject matter within the book. It’s quite contemporary, especially in the “wired” sense, to view a book more as a specific physical instance of a work for which one has purchased a license, than as the be-all and end-all of its contents. Darrel Ince has done a commendable job of gathering relevant terms without paying undue attention to the ephemeral. In a lexicological environment as dynamic and chaotic as the Internet, Ince has managed to compile quite an impressive list.
Most people, excluding word nerds, aren’t really into dictionaries or reference books, but this particular one is exceptional. Part of its appeal is in the novelty of its subject; most terms and phrases were coined within the lifetimes of its prospective readers. Additionally, this means the source material for the words and the mindsets of their creators are more or less contemporary with readers, lending ease to their acquisition. Finally, these words are all about computers, and it’s hard to go through the day without using one. These are relevant words that are helpful and interesting to know.
The hardcopy dictionary and online supplement are both clearly written with excellent examples. The online version is accessible by the CD included with the book, and is enormously useful—hyperlinks were created and are used in reference books. Every cross-reference, every example documented online (as all of them are, this being a dictionary of the Internet), is hyperlinked and accessible by web-browser. It will bring untold joy to the hearts of compulsive dictionary readers everywhere to be able to open multiple entries simultaneously in separate windows. Like the online version of the OED, this book is a marvelous example of the next step in the evolution of dictionaries.
