AP changes 'Web site' to 'website'

The Associated Press recently changed its policy for writing style in journalism, signaling its reporters and others that follow the AP Stylebook to use the word 'website' in place of the term 'Web site'.

The move has sent so-called language nerds to chat up a storm on social media website Twitter, according to the Washington Post.

The change will be represented immediately in the Associated Press online style book and will be included in the 2010 print edition of the book.

Washington Post columnist Rob Pegoraro says that the change makes him feel conflicted and that his newspaper hasn't issued a decision on whether to follow the AP on this one.

"I've been writing 'Web site' since some 15 years ago - back when you'd need to differentiate among Web, FTP and Gopher sites", says Pegoraro. "So this feels like a drastic shift. My instinctive reaction is to stick with traditional practice, but I'm not completely sure what to think".

In existence since 1846, the AP made the announcement using a nontraditional medium. The news gathering organization told its Twitter followers that the style change comes in response to reader input.