Your systems admin is correct... Library 2.0 (and Web 2.0) are based on the idea of software version numbers, which are referred to as [major version].[minor version].[build number], where the period is pronounced point.

"Dot" is used for URLs, although I have heard the periods in IP addresses referred to as either.

Amanda, thanks. I think I use the word "dot" because I'm so used to pronouncing URLs and e-mail addresses. I have personally never heard anyone use the word "point" in IP addresses. That's a new one on me!

At Computers in Libraries this year, there was an argument about this -- except it centered around "two point oh" versus "two point zero". Because it's really a zero.

Personally, "two point oh" is what I go with, since that's always been how I pronounced version numbers.

Amanda,

I also have to agree with your system administrator. In my own research and presentations I use Library Two Point Oh based on the latest version used. You would be the first person I know who has referred to Library 2.0 as Library Two Dot Oh.

Jenica, Thanks. I can see the rationale for the word "zero," but I hope I don't have to retrain myself to use it!

Richard, Based on your observation, I can only conclude that people have been too polite to correct me when hearing me mispronounce the word - except for Fred!

I'm also on the admin's side. Never thought of "dot," actually, since it's a decimal point (unlike, yes, the dot group separators in IP addresses and URLs)

Walt, good point. Bad pun, sorry. But what else can I do when I'm losing this one big time?

I always used the term "point" when referring to web 2.0 and library 2.0. I happened upon this site http://blogs.zdnet.com/SAAS/?p=290 if your interested in yet another groups' opinion!! I was at the RILA conference on June 7th and 8th and enjoyed your presentation very much.

Lil, Thanks for link to the ZDNet blog entry. Useful! I appreciate your kind words about my talk at RILA. That was yet another venue at which people were too polite to correct me. Good thing I've got friends (Fred) who delight in proving me wrong.

Nah, Laura, I don't think that it's that people are 'too polite to correct', I think it's that while there *may* be critical mass behind the idea of it being "two point oh", nobody's really *sure* what it's supposed to be. I heard all four iterations -- "two point oh", "two point zero", "two dot oh", and "two dot zero" -- from presenters at Computers in Libraries this year. That says to me that, since we're all doing most of this communicating online and in text, we're all pronouncing it differently in our heads! And who's to say who's right?

Jenica, I like your conclusion: absolute right or wrong can be hard to come by in this type of context. I think we can all come up with Internet-related terms that are moving targets. As an example of a text-based issue, try choosing among "web site" vs. "website" vs. "Web site". I began with "Web site" and am slowly migrating toward "website," but I see a lot of the use of "web site" out there. It's a great time to be a lexicographer.

I'm never really sure how to pronounce computer related terms. I just pronounce them how I like and other people will figure it out. One of the ones my friends and I argue about is "MySQL" - I pronounce it "my sequel," some say all the letters.

My husband calls it "My Squirrel." To each their own.

Am I the only one who's just been skipping the punctuation altogether and saying "Library Two Oh"? Saying "dot" or "point" is like...oh jeez, an extra mouse-click.

Walt Crawford linked to this entry in the LSW Meebo room a few hours ago, and shortly afterward, I left for a vendor update.

The vendor rep kept saying "two dot oh," so you have at least one person on your side, Laura.

(I must confess I had to restrain myself from giggling every time he said it.)

I vote for Web "two point oh." Don't forget that Web "three point oh" is just around the corner! :-)

My preference in writing is "website," but our Communications writers follow APA which says, "Web site," I believe.

Sorry Laura. I've only ever heard (and said) those as "two-point-oh."

I guess I've thought of those as fractions. Would you say pi is "three dot one four three," or "three point one four three?"

Then again I'm looking at this website with Firefox 2.0.0.4 (obviously NOT a fraction)...

Karin, "My Squirrel" is absolutely perfect. Please tell your husband that I approve.

Bruce, brevity is the soul of wit! "Library Two Oh" would solve this problem altogether. Why didn't I think of this before?

Rikhei, Thank you for giving me an ally! I'm glad that this little discussion gave you an amusing afternoon.

Karen, As long as Web three point oh, and not Web three dot oh, is coming around the bend, we'll all be in good shape.

Jonathan, Fractions, versions...I appreciate your uncertainty. Maybe the nomenclature of fractions is being adopted to the world of software versions. After all, fractions came first!

A few people I know omit the 'oh' all together and just call it 'library 2'. hmm.

I favour point myself. Being a geek and all.

Fiona, I'm also a geek but apparently have been missing out on the finer, um, points. "Library 2" is even easier than "Library 2 oh." I like it.

"Library Two Zero"

Following an obnoxious rule of correct pronunciaton taught to me by a distinguished scholar, the proper thing is to wait for someone else to pronounce the word, and then correct him.

when I started reading about Web 2.0 and Library 2.0 I pronounced the terms (in my head) as "Web Two" and "Library Two". Then I realised this whole 2.0 business had something to do with software versions (e.g. Windows 3.1) and changed how I read it.

When I was a child I pronounced Hitler as Hilter and Hercules as Her-cools - until someone else said the names outloud/read them to me and I realised to myself that I had been wrong... I have a long history of misreading things :)

Heinrich, another vote for zero, along with a graceful omission of the little round thing in between the 2 and the 0.

Chuck, I have an aunt who would fit rather nicely into that behavior pattern.

CW, I once pronounced Tuscon as tus-con. I don't think I'll ever live that down. Since you're in Australia, I'll show you the correct pronunciation: too-sahn.

Additionally, if I must confess, constantly hearing the pronunciation of Garbage's second album several years ago surely helped too.

Laura, for years I thought Arkansas was pronounced as written. I always knew how to pronounce Tuscon thanks to the Beatles!

Fiona, This is going to age me but: my Tucson faux pas occurred before "Get Back" was released. I should have waited a few years before opening my mouth.

I think I knew Tuscon from watching westerns ;) But why is Arkansas written the way it is?

I think you must pronounce it TWO POINT ZERO I forget it why you should pronounce it like that, but you can also consider any of those two.

To me, it is LIBRARY TWO POINT OH just like WEB TWO POINT OH where the name originated from. But just for a little inconsistency, how does everyone refer to Z39.50? I have always heard it as ZEE THIRTY NINE DOT FIFTY.

Michael, I've heard Z39.50 pronounced exactly as you indicate. This is interesting because there are other Z39 standards. But each separate Z39 standard isn't a version of the other ones. So in this sense, the "." doesn't designate version numbers as it apparently does with Web 2.0 and Library 2.0.

I'm a "two point oh" guy, myself, to maintain symmetry with "web two point oh". Given half a chance, though, I'd change to "two dot nought".

Michael, You've come up with a crisply British alternative. I like it.

Around here the point/dot/what-have you in Z39.50 is omitted, and "zee thirty-nine fifty" prevails. (Not "zed", for your Anglophiles or Canajuns.) I'm fascinated to see so many comments (and now my own) on such a fine point. But then again, I'm thrown in with this crowd (i.e., librarians) for whom details matter ... A LOT! Frankly, as long as I know what you're talking about, it doesn't much matter to me how you say it. And, hey! spinning it as 'dot' and not 'point' will probably mean I'll remember having spoken with you and not someone else. Go for it, I say. (And sorry to be so late to the party!)

Ross, I'm as fascinated as you to see all the comments. I'm still debating the pronunciation issue - should I or should I not retrain myself? It helps to realize that words and definitions relating to the Web are as fluid as the Web itself, so correct/incorrect is not carved in stone. However, keep your ears open for somebody pronouncing 2.0 with a dot - it will probably be me!

Either way is correct. Actually, in the future, I would bet that you will hear "dot" more often than "point". The pronunciation of software version numbers originated before there was an Internet. In those days, version numbers were meant to be actual floating point numbers with only a single decimal point. Since the inception of the Internet (and IP addresses and URLs along with it), the period has been used as a separator in strings of characters. Now, most software companies specify software versions with multiple periods (e.g. Internet Explorer version 7.0.5730.11). You can no longer argue that the period is a decimal point and should therefore be pronounced "point". I hear software developers pronounce it both ways all the time, so take your pick.

For goodness sake, you sloppy individuals ! The argument of ' that's how i've always pronounced it ' is no argument at all and in the majority of cases above you are wrong.
The dot you refer to is a point for it is a decimal point and the 0 ( or oh as in doh ! ) you refer to is pronounced zero because it is of course an integer and not a letter/vowel. Right, that's the last word, now no more sloppy, lazy silliness please. Also just in case any of you need a little help elsewhere it's quite quiet here. Note the difference in those words !

Hi, i am a 16 year old girl from NH. I am part of the New Hampshire YMCA Youth and Government program and happened to come across this page because i am writing a bill about the number zero. My goal is to stop students from pronouncing Zero as "oh"... but reading through the web ive come across some trouble.

I previously thought that saying zero as "oh" altogether was wrong.. but i came upon a page that said zero is "legally" pronounced as "oh" in dates and after decimal points. ???

I confess that i actually have no idea what Library 2.0 is, what this thread is about, or who you people are.. but i wanted to comment on such an interesting topic.

Hi, i am a 16 year old girl from NH. I am part of the New Hampshire YMCA Youth and Government program and happened to come across this page because i am writing a bill about the number zero. My goal is to stop students from pronouncing Zero as "oh"... but reading through the web ive come across some trouble.

I previously thought that saying zero as "oh" altogether was wrong.. but i came upon a page that said zero is "legally" pronounced as "oh" in dates and after decimal points. ???

I confess that i actually have no idea what Library 2.0 is, what this thread is about, or who you people are.. but i wanted to comment on such an interesting topic.

The 'point-oh' seems to be the standard on the Web. But, if it is pronounced as 'Web two-point-oh' then it should be written as 'Web 2.o.' Note the use of an 'o' instead of a 0 (zero.) If it is written as Web 2.0 then it should be pronounced as 'Web two-point-zero.' I actually like the looks of Web 2.o