The BBC seems confused about why some terms are internet clichés (like 'information superhighway' and 'e-[insert word here]'), and others ('spam', 'flame', 'netiquette') get in dictionaries. It's pretty simple, although difficult to see when you're a journalist: nobody ever says 'surf' or 'internet superhighway' (although I'm quite taken with 'infobahn' I don't think I'd ever use it without a heavy dose of irony). Stuff like 'spam' on the otherhand was used by people before the media got their hands on it. Answer: if you learn a word from a newspaper, it won't be around in another six months time.
The BBC seems confused about why some terms are internet clichés (like 'information superhighway' and 'e-[insert word here]'), and others ('spam', 'flame', 'netiquette') get in dictionaries. It's pretty simple, although difficult to see when you're a journalist: nobody ever says 'surf' or 'internet superhighway' (although I'm quite taken with 'infobahn' I don't think I'd ever use it without a heavy dose of irony). Stuff like 'spam' on the otherhand was used by people before the media got their hands on it. Answer: if you learn a word from a newspaper, it won't be around in another six months time.