"website"/"web site", "webpage"/"web page", and the general issue of wordlists

[wbamberg]

This was raised in mdn/content#26461.

We don't consistently use the same spelling for "website"/"web site" or "webpage"/"web page".

In mdn/content#26566, @dawei-wang has a fix for this, which updates pages to use "website" and "webpage". This is technically correct, because we point to Microsoft's style guide for places we don't express an opinion, and the MS style guide wants "website" and "webpage".

But having asked a few people about this, most people (including me) prefer "website" and "web page", and that's also what the Google style guide prefers.

I don't think we should maintain our own wordlist for everything, so deferring to another list is a good plan. But we might want to express an opinion about some words.

So, options include:

1. Merge Correct word usage content#26566, keeping our guidance to use the MS style guide here.
2. Add a section in https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/MDN/Writing_guidelines/Writing_style_guide like "selective wordlist" or something, where we list words we care especially about, and then defer to the MS wordlist for the rest.
3. Optionally (2) and also switch to the Google wordlist?

[hamishwillee]

The preferred dictionary is below the style guide section. That is dictionary.com, and it prefers website, web page and so on.

• Doesn't that trump the style guides for spelling preferences? (we should make that clear)

IMO better to avoid separate word lists if we can avoid it.
If it were me I'd update the preferred dictionary section to have it first.
Then word something like:

For questions about spelling, refer to Dictionary.com. The spelling checker for this site uses American English. Where there is any ambiguity, use the terminology in the Google style guide.

(unless you want style guide first, then dictionary?)

[wbamberg]

OK so it turns out that I can't read our writing guidelines documentation. There is a "Spelling" H3: https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/MDN/Writing_guidelines/Writing_style_guide#spelling which gives us dictionary.com as the standard, which in turn gives us "website" and "web page".

So... maybe there's nothing to do here?

[yarusome]

@wbamberg It suggests that this page is overly lengthy and monolithic to act as a useful guide, no?

[wbamberg]

Yeah I would agree with that, I saw your issue there (it would also help if H3 headings appeared in the ToC, but your point stands).

[hamishwillee]

Yes, nothing to do, except perhaps move the dictionary above the style guide and make it clear which has priority.

Yes the page is large and monolithic. But I'm not sure splitting it would make things much more easy to find. H3 headings in TOC might be better ....

[dipikabh]

I had reorganized and restructured the Writing style guide in positive hopes that we'll land the H3 headings in page TOC. And as a stopgap measure, I added a TOC after each H2 section.

Instead of having an exhaustive word list, we can have a small selection of words (as an example) to highlight. I can add it to the Terminology section if you'll agree. This can include other words that Hamish highlighted - web, WWW, internet.
/cc @wbamberg @hamishwillee

[OnkarRuikar]

I've been changing web site to website in my PRs whenever I could. We are down to only 114 files now :)

So... maybe there's nothing to do here?

• It is time we add the lint rule Update web site to website content#26682