While doing some design work for one of our clients yesterday we noticed we had been passed some copy that had a URL with a www.____.com\___ instead of a www.____.com/___. Subtle difference, but only one of them will lead you to an actual Web page.
It got us into the discussion about how when people are verbalizing Web site addresses they always say “Double U Double U Double U Dot [Web site URL] Dot Com BACKSLASH [Directory], even though what they really mean to say is “slash.” It’s true, for some strange reason, backslash has become the accepted term even though it doesn’t even belong in the world wide web lexicon. Who knows how it happened, but it has certainly caught on. I have even heard and seen commercials that refer to a slash as a backslash! The madness must stop. Here’s a guy who’s really pissed about the people that make this mistake: http://www.idwid.com/blog/archives/74. I’m not sure I feel the same venom about the subject, but I agree I wish the mistake wasn’t so common…
Ok, now that my semi-rant is over, let’s review:
/ = Slash (also referred to as forward slash)
\ = Backslash (not used in ANY Web site URL)
Garret Ohm
http://www.orange-element.com
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I’ll admit that I’ve been one of the many ignorant folk to use “backslash” instead of just slash. Never again…
Here in the UK I don’t think I’ve heard backslash used at all except where it was required.
It’s either slash or forward slash.
i hear bill o’reilly say “backslash” all the time in ads he does for his raadio show and it just makes me laugh.