Group Reads Discussion Post: Because Internet: Understanding the New Rules of Language

[SRC Moderator, Moderator]

This is the discussion thread for the Summer 2025 Group Read, Because Internet: Understanding the New Rules of Languagein the category Non-Fiction- Linquistics. Please post your comments here. This thread is not restricted to those choosing this book for task 20.10, feel free to join in the discussion. Warning- spoilers ahead!

The requirement for task 20.10: You must participate in the book's discussion thread below with at least one post about the contents of the book or your reaction to the book after you have read the book.

[Jayne, Moderator Emeritus]

Ironically for a book on language, I don't quite have the words to explain how excited I was to see this come up as an option for the group reads - the well-known gif of Kermit the Frog flailing* would probably sum it up quite well though. Having been chronically online since the age of about ten and being a huge linguistics nerd to boot, this was pretty much the perfect book for me.

It was fascinating to track the evolution of online language through the various 'eras' of the internet, and to realise how my own use of language has changed with the times. I'm what McCulloch would class as a 'Full Internet Person' - too young to have been around for Usenet, but old enough to have got online in the era of AOL Instant Messenger and Geocities and to have picked up some of the existing habits through a kind of cultural osmosis. I didn't know about the Jargon File - I effectively picked up online speech through mimicry, which I suppose is much the same as children acquiring speech from listening to people around them. Maybe my age had something to do with it at the time - and maybe that explains why I've been a little more resistant to newer adaptations in online language. I remember adjusting from old-style emoticons such as :-) to ^_^ and other similar kaomoji without batting an eyelid back in the mid-2000s, but taking much longer to get to grips with modern, 'standardised' emoji when they eventually became widespread a little under ten years later.

One thing I've come across online that would have been interesting to see included is the use of older internet methods to replicate newer styles of communication. For example, I used to play Final Fantasy XIV, an online game with a chat system that is largely limited to plain text - no emojis, no Tenor gif database like you'd find on most modern chat systems. It's led to some creative folks bringing back ASCII art in order to recreate modern memes such as Bongo Cat** and Doge*** for use in chat messages. That said, McCulloch freely admits she couldn't include everything, and that one is a particularly niche case.

Honestly, my biggest gripe with the book was how old it made me feel at times! If anyone needs me, I'll be in the corner with my cane, grumbling about how back in the day you had to wait half an hour to download a grainy, pixelated jpg via email instead of being able to instantly find the perfect gif to share with your friends on Messenger. ;-)

* https://tenor.com/view/kermit-gif-557...
** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bongo_Cat
*** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doge_(m...

[Jasmiina]

An interesting book, but at times it sometimes failed to maintain my interest. The book placed quite a strong emphasis on the history of the internet, which I personally find less engaging than the development of language. I would have liked to see even more examples of language-related trends and styles. I don't usually read books like this, so it was an interesting and new reading experience for me.

[Meg]

I found this book very interesting. It managed to explain things that i already knew, but couldn't have put into words. The main takeaway for me was that internet language isn't a deterioration of English, it's a continuation and recording of informal language that has always existed.
But.... why did it have to be SO looooooong? It could have been cut down so much and been a much more enjoyable read. It was so dense and a bit repetitive.
Overall i still found it very interesting so 3.5-4 stars

[Nick]

Nick KY

I work at a small university that has branched out with an international PhD program, bringing many new interests into our academic environment. One of these new interests, and I question whether it is an appropriate one, is a cheerleading of the use of AI by all faculty, staff, and students. Even in the new PhD program, students are encouraged to use AI as a tool for writing. I. like many, am concerned with the ramifications on intellectual property that this new movement brings, as well as a proven reduction in cognitive communicative abilities by those who rely on AI for the creation of written documents. Because Internet , published in 2019, foreshadows these concerns by questioning the development of new terminologies within the internet environment. Though AI in its present form was not yet around in a big way in 2019, nonetheless McCulloch presents the way that language evolves in an artificial intellectual environment. In the case of Because Internet: , language evolves within the internet and its various platforms. The creation of new words and new language patterns signals an evolution of thought within the parameters of a fast-paced artificial environment. McCulloch sees this as an inevitable evolution of language within an ever-increasing artificially-intelligenced world. She does not necessarily see this change as harmful to communication, but rather a natural growth. I wonder how she would react to today’s evolution toward an AI patterned evolution. After all, her source material is still basically generated by human communication within an internet environment. Today we are having to ask if AI evolution of communication has the same merits.