tech

Here’s an interesting case of computer programming influencing spelling. (You certainly don’t see that every day!) In honor of the official merging of K. S. Writing and Petrofy as Midlothian Web Solutions, I thought I’d go techie today. Have you ever noticed the difference between “login,” “log in,” and “log-in”?

While some argue that “login” is never correct—that it should either be “log-in” or “log in”—the use of “login” is growing. Why? There are a few possible arguments. Some argue “login” is becoming common because spaces are not used within coding languages, and hyphens can be read as a break between two separate words. Others argue that “login” just looks cleaner from a web design standpoint. Either way, when these rules trickle into the non-digital world, grammar chaos ensues!

Getting back to the correct, original usage of these words:

To log in or log on to a site (log in/log on as a verb), you would always use two words.

If you ask a user for their log-in information (used as an adjective) or simply for their log-in (noun), the hyphenated form is correct. This hyphenated form is often where the one word “login” is used interchangeably, but you know there’s a heated grammarian hullabaloo about this. (Oh, the many ways you can annoy a grammar nazi…)

Are there any other techie words or phrases you have questions about?