Broadcast Commercials Incorrectly Use Popular Computer Term
By Mike DeNardo
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- As Scott Franzke often says to Larry Andersen, "It's all about accuracy." But when you hear a web address in a commercial you'll often hear the term backslash, even though it's not.
Web URLs use forward slashes, the slash next to the question mark on the keyboard. Drexel computer science professor, Dr. Jennifer Booker says the ad copywriter likely either assumed "backslash" is correct because so many people say it, or because its another way of saying another familiar term.
"I think it's because it sounds more technological than just saying 'slash,' Booker said. "And so they're trying to use it for some sort of technology cred, if you would."
The term backslash would be correct if you're talking about typing an MS-DOS command, but rarely do people do that anymore.